"It's great to see us on top of this year's first poll," said IHCC coach Mike Hagen. "But the ranking doesn't mean we have done anything as a team. It does, however, recognize our returning sophomores and strong freshman recruiting class."
The two teams that finished a distant second and third to the Warriors in last May's national tourney are ranked in the top three. Odessa (TX) is second in the poll and Western Texas is third. Western Texas was the runner-up in the national tourney, 13 strokes in back of IHCC, and Odessa was third, 24 shots behind the Warriors.
Hagen welcomes back three members of last year's national title team in Ben Ludlam, the Phil Mickelson Award winner as the best freshman in NJCAA Division I, Mitch Tucker and William White. Also returning is Kevin Workman, who showed signs of being a solid contributor during his freshman season.
The IHCC coach said, "I am excited to see how our returners play coming off of last year's national championship. And I'm anxious to find out this fall how our freshmen adapt to the pressure of college golf."
The freshmen class includes Oscar Sharpe, a highly-touted player from England, as well as Iowans Colin Pearson from Fort Dodge, Connor Peck from Ankeny and Luke Monson from Clear Lake.
The Warriors open their four-meet fall schedule when they play in the Diet Pepsi Shocker Classic in Wichita, Kan. Sept. 10-11. They will host the Community 1st Credit Union Fall Invitational Sept. 18-19.
