Warrior Weekly: young golf teams prepare to open 2018-19 season

Men’s golf team ready to tee-off at two events in Washington

When the Stanislaus State men’s golf team tees off for the first time to open 2018-19 season on Friday, it will feature a young and inexperienced team.

Young by age and inexperienced in total number of rounds played at this collegiate level.

But head coach Brandon Christiansen thinks his squad is ready.

Led by a sophomore in Michael Jura, who was the reigning California Collegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year, the Warriors begin play on Friday at the Saint Martin’s Invitational in Lacey, Wash.

In fact, the Warriors have the atypical schedule of playing in two tournaments in five days in the Pacific Northwest. On Monday, Stan State participates in the Western Washington Invitational in Bellingham, Wash.

The young Warriors will feature returning sophomores in Jura (Fresno/Bullard HS), Tim Sauer (El Dorado Hills/Granite Bay HS) and Brad Sparrer (Hollister/San Benito HS) — together they’ve played a combined 60 rounds of collegiate tournament golf. Jura and Sauer sport a low stroke average of 76.3 and 76.5, respectively, in 2017-18. In two tournaments last season, Sparrer averaged 79.2

Three incoming transfers, though, will immediately help lower the team score as they carried with them some impressive accolades.

Benjamin Graham, a sophomore from Renton, Wash., spent last season at Division III Willamette University (Ore.). In 11 tournaments, Graham averaged 75.53 strokes in 21-plus rounds.

Graham will begin the year at the No. 1 player on the team.

Kobie Lockwood, of Crescent City, was named the Northwest Athletic Conference Golfer of the Year after a stellar sophomore season at Southwest Oregon Community College.

Junior Bryson Bentley (La Mirada/La Mirada HS) led the Orange Coast College team to a third place finish at the State Championship after the Pirates snagged a conference title.

Volleyball hosts a pair against Bay Area CCAA foes

The Stanislaus State women’s volleyball team is back on the courts at Fitzpatrick Arena this weekend when the Warriors host a pair of conference contests against Bay Area foes.

The Warriors host Cal State East Bay on Friday and San Francisco State on Saturday. Both matches are at 7 p.m.

Behind the strong play of Sierra Adams (110 kills, 4.07 kills per set), Rachel Klopfer (94 kills, 91 digs) and Pitman High School alumnus Yisel Perez (76 kills, 18 blocks) , Stan State is off to an 8-4 start, equaling the program’s best beginning to a season set in 2015.