NORMAN, Okla. – The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced its 2021-22 Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Preseason Coaches Poll on Friday and Washington and Lee was among the teams included in the Top 25.
The Generals sit in eighth-place overall with 123 points, the highest team in the poll who did not qualify for last season's NCAA Championship. Illinois Wesleyan, last season's NCAA Champion, sits atop the rankings with 220 points and eight first-place votes. Last year's runner-up, Methodist, is second with 211 points and one first-place vote, while Guilford is third with 201 points. Huntingdon is fourth with the final first-place vote and 196 points, and Carnegie Mellon ranks fifth with 188 points. Emory (169), Piedmont (141), W&L, Denison (121) and Trinity of Texas (114) rounded out the Top 10.
W&L finished the 2021 spring campaign ranked 12th in the Golfstat Division III Team rankings and returns its entire squad this fall. Among them is junior
Pierce Robinson (Kings Mountain, N.C. / Thomas Jefferson Classical), who earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades last year. Also back are a pair of All-ODAC honorees in juniors
Owen Malcolm (Atlanta, Ga. / Holy Innocents' Episcopal) and
Caleb Choe (Virginia Beach, Va. / Cape Henry Collegiate).
Robinson completed the 2021 season ranked 46th in the Golfstat Division III player rankings and was an individual qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship. He finished in a tie for 50th with a +21 score of 70-79-81-74—304. Robinson totaled three Top 5 tournament finishes including a pair of tournament wins. He also placed third at the 2021 ODAC Championship and posted a 73.88 scoring average, a total which ranked as the fifth-best season total in program history.
Malcolm collected Second Team All-ODAC accolades in 2021, tying for eighth overall at the ODAC Championship. He finished the season ranked 100th in the Golfstat Division III Player Rankings and he logged a 75.17 scoring average across 12 rounds played.
Choe received Third Team All-ODAC honors this past spring after registering a 76.22 scoring average across nine rounds. He finished fourth overall at the ODAC Championship and he shot a season-low round of 72 (72-74--146, +2) en route to placing in a tie for third at the Hampden-Sydney Invitational.
Last year, the Blue & White won one tournament and had three Top 5 finishes, including a third-place finish at the ODAC Championship.
The Generals open the 2021-22 campaign on September 19-21 at the NCAA Preview held at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
