On Monday the NCMC Men's Golf team placed first in the weather shortened Mineral Area College Winter Warm-Up tournament.  The event was originally scheduled for March 26-27 but was shortened to a single day due to wet and cold conditions.  The Pirates team score of 314 bested Mineral Area College, Crowley's Ridge College, and Lewis and Clark Community College.

Weather has certainly not been ideal for the Pirates for the past two tournaments but the team has overcome those obstacles.  "The conditions were very similar to those that we just played in at Mozingo.  It was wet, cold, and playing extremely long," remarked Coach Sager of the playing circumstances.

Cody Glenn earned individual medalist honors for the event while shooting a +4 score of 76.  "Congrats to Cody, he's playing a very simple form of golf right now and it's working well.  He's hitting a long ball off the tee and his putter got hot at the right time," commented Sager of Glenn's winning efforts.  "There's little substitute for length at this level.  The difference between hitting a wedge into the green versus a 5-iron is a huge advantage," added Sager.  The conditions of the tournament only exacerbated this fact.

Jasper van der Zon also medaled in the event placing fifth with a +6 score.  Other Pirates competitors included Lewis Hopkinson +7, James Gardner +7, Scott Swayne +9, Easton Klaver +10, and Nate Swann +16.

The Pirates still have two competitions on the schedule before the Regional Tournament at the end of April.  The team's ultimate goal of making it to Nationals helps them keep their win in perspective.  "We know that when Regionals roll around, our score needs to be down around the 300 mark.  As a team, we have to do a better job of getting the ball in the hole.  It's good to see more of our scores in the 70's, but we're still a long way from our potential as a team.  Needless to say, the practice green at Green Hills G.C. is going to get a workout over the next month," concluded Sager.