First golf team playing like veterans
By Tony Nelson
IVCC’s first golf team in 15 years has opened the season playing more like veterans.
The Apaches are 1 – 0 in head-to-head play and finished second, by one stroke, in their first N4C meet on Sept. 8 at home. At press time the team had two conference points, which put them in second place behind Rock Valley with three points.
Coach Jim Moskalewicz said there are no official conference rankings at this point, but he estimated that the Apaches are first or second.
"We need two first place finishes and one second place in our next three conference meets," the coach said. "This will give us a great chance of winning the conference."
Moskalewicz also wants one or two of the Apaches to qualify for the national tournament this year.
IVCC’s team consists of ten players, but only five, chosen before a match, contribute to the team’s score. The top five Apaches are Brian Stamberger, Brett Carlson, Pat Becker, Erik Main and Casey Hamel, at this time.
Moskalewicz said Jeff Becker is also playing well and looking to compete in match play.
The coach said he has been pleased with the time and effort the team has given.
"Sometimes they don’t get home until after 8 p.m., but I have noticed the team studying together and getting their work done," he said.
And while the team’s performance at matches has been good, Moskalewicz expects them to improve. He wants each of the players to golf consistently in the mid- to high 80’s.
"The team will get more consistent as the season goes on," he said, adding that the next meet, a conference meet Sept. 22 at DuPage, should reflect that improvement.
"It’s (DuPage course) a long, straight course," the coach said. "We will do well there. It’ll be great as it will be in the heart of our season. The course plays to Stamberger’s strengths."
The coach described Stamberger, a 6’5" freshman, as "a long hitter kind of like Tiger Woods."
At the John Logan Invitational in Carbondale Sept. 12 and 13, Stamberger was the top player of 15 teams with scores of 66 and 73, 3 under par.
"He (Stamberger) was hitting 330-yard fairway drives all day," the coach said.
The Apaches finished the invitational in eighth place with a team score of 307 on Saturday and 315 on Sunday. Team scores are determined by adding the scores of the best four of the five players at a match.
In addition to the Apache team being new, Moskalewicz is taking on his first head coaching job although he has extensive golf experience.
He competed as a student at St. Bede Academy and joined the University of Iowa team as a walk-on. Among the many amateur tournaments he has entered, he has been the runner up four years in a row in the Club Championships at Spring Creek.
Moskalewicz has also taught golf with Mary Dagraedt, an LPGA Master Pro and a Hall of Fame instructor.
His long-term goals include establishing both fall and spring golf, fund raising to bring more money into the program, recruiting more players, and building relationships with four-year schools so IVCC players can continue playing at the university level.
Another goal is a national championship. "DuPage has three national championships; why can’t we win one," he said.
Sept 17, 1998 the Apache