Full MIAC Preview

The Augsburg College men's golf team is one of the youngest in the MIAC, with no seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and five first-year students on its 13-golfer roster. But youth is not a deterrent for a squad coming off of last season's third-place finish at the MIAC championships -- Augsburg's 14th top-five conference-meet finish in the previous 15 seasons. Under head coach Ted Vickerman, the Auggies have finished among the top three teams in three of his four previous seasons.

Augsburg enters this week's MIAC meet with a 319.8 team stroke average. Vickerman has used different top-five lineups in each of the four varsity meets leading up to the conference championships, with just three golfers -- Joel Kociemba (JR, Andover, Minn./St. Francis HS), Brian Deuel (SO, Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) and Jason Henning (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) -- competing in all four meets.

Kociemba has led the Auggies thus far, averaging 78.1 strokes per-round, nearly a three-stroke improvement from last season. He has five of the top 14 rounds shot by Auggie golfers this fall and seven of his eight rounds this season in the 70s. Deuel stands second on the team in scoring, averaging 79.3 strokes per-round, with five of his eight rounds this season in the 70s. Henning is averaging 81.8 strokes per-round. Both Kociemba and Henning competed in last year's MIAC meet, with Henning finishing 28th and Kociemba finishing 40th.

The other two spots in the Auggie varsity roster have been held by four different golfers, with Zach Johnson (FY, Sartell, Minn.) competing in three meets, Alex Umland (JR, Maple Grove, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) and Christopher Tobkin (FY, Willmar, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) competing in two meets, and Terry Gibbons (SO, Westlake, Ohio) competing in one meet. Johnson has an 81.6 stroke average, while Umland, who finished 45th at the 2007 MIAC championships, is averaging 81.5 strokes per-round. Gibbons made his first varsity appearance last weekend, and has a 84.7 stroke average.