2008 Woodie Awards
Freshmen lead Husker golf squad through season
Tim Uryasz
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Sports
Upperclassman and veterans are the cream of the crop when it comes to sports. Everyone looks up to them for leadership, and they are the ones in the line of fire in a clutch situation.
Nebraska's men's golf team, though, would have to be an exception.
Andrew Wyatt and Mike Coatman have been providing the Cornhuskers' men's golf team with superior play and great enthusiasm throughout the season.
The two are leaders of the very young golf team, even though the two are the third- and first-youngest on the team, respectively.
That's right, they're freshman.
Being underclassmen, only 18 years old and having no college experience coming into Lincoln, many didn't think the two could pilot a college team.
Even NU Coach Bill Spangler was caught by surprise.
"If you were to tell me two freshmen would lead the team, I would not have believed you," Spangler said.
The team has no senior leadership, well, because there are no seniors. But leadership, for the Huskers, comes from freshmen.
Andrew Wyatt, from Lake Forest, Ill., has been an out-of-state sensation for the Huskers. Wyatt, who is first on the team in individual stroke average with a 75.17, is the only golfer for NU to have received a score lower than 70 in a round this year. He has the team-low round in five out of the last six tournaments.
"He's consistent," Spangler said. "He makes few mistakes, and he is accurate off the tee. He hits his fairways and he is very steady."
Wyatt is also the only Husker who has recorded a top-15 finish in any tournament this season. He finished tied for 15th in the Diet Pepsi Shocker Classic earlier this month.
Mike Coatman, though, has done something for the team that no one else can say they did. Not only was he the only golfer to play in all 11 tournaments, he was the steadiest in each one.
Coatman didn't have more than 235 strokes any tournament, the only NU golfer to accomplish that feat.
Nebraska's men's golf team, though, would have to be an exception.
Andrew Wyatt and Mike Coatman have been providing the Cornhuskers' men's golf team with superior play and great enthusiasm throughout the season.
The two are leaders of the very young golf team, even though the two are the third- and first-youngest on the team, respectively.
That's right, they're freshman.
Being underclassmen, only 18 years old and having no college experience coming into Lincoln, many didn't think the two could pilot a college team.
Even NU Coach Bill Spangler was caught by surprise.
"If you were to tell me two freshmen would lead the team, I would not have believed you," Spangler said.
The team has no senior leadership, well, because there are no seniors. But leadership, for the Huskers, comes from freshmen.
Andrew Wyatt, from Lake Forest, Ill., has been an out-of-state sensation for the Huskers. Wyatt, who is first on the team in individual stroke average with a 75.17, is the only golfer for NU to have received a score lower than 70 in a round this year. He has the team-low round in five out of the last six tournaments.
"He's consistent," Spangler said. "He makes few mistakes, and he is accurate off the tee. He hits his fairways and he is very steady."
Wyatt is also the only Husker who has recorded a top-15 finish in any tournament this season. He finished tied for 15th in the Diet Pepsi Shocker Classic earlier this month.
Mike Coatman, though, has done something for the team that no one else can say they did. Not only was he the only golfer to play in all 11 tournaments, he was the steadiest in each one.
Coatman didn't have more than 235 strokes any tournament, the only NU golfer to accomplish that feat.
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