Athens, Ga. – All of the work the Stetson men's golf team has put in during the 2021-22 season comes to a head beginning Sunday when the Hatters open play in the 2022 ASUN Championship.
 
The tournament is being played again this year at the University of Georgia Golf Course, which was designed by famous course architect Robert Trent Jones in 1968 and renovated in 2006. The course plays to a par of 71 over 7,258 yards.
 
Stetson finished eighth last spring in a nine-team tournament at the UGA Course, posting scores of 298, 301 and 301.
 
The Hatters enter the tournament as underdogs for certain, but with four top five finishes this spring, the squad has more optimism coming into the championship than it has had in many years.
 
Only two members of the current squad played in the tournament last year. Redshirt sophomore Mason Quagliata finished 27^th last year with scores of 74-73-77 for an 11-over par 224. Redshirt freshman Truman Keppy posted rounds of 74-77-76 for a 14-over par total of 227.
 
Keppy comes into the tournament this year with a team-best 73.6 scoring average over 25 rounds with Quagliata sitting second with a 75.2 average.
 
They will be joined by freshman Ian Ball, who has a 75.71 scoring average over a team-high 28 rounds of competition. Redshirt sophomore Bradley Goldstein (76.77) and redshirt junior Ryan Peters (77.14) round out the squad for Stetson. Freshman Matthew Cooper (79.38) will also make the trip to serve as the Hatters' emergency sixth man. He would only play if one of the other five players was to become unable to compete.
 
Combined, the five Hatters have played 23 rounds this year under par, and they will need to pull together to play that kind of golf over the three days of the tournament in order to compete with highly ranked teams at the top of the ASUN.
 
Defending ASUN champion Liberty comes into the tournament as the favorite to repeat. The Flames are ranked 36^th in the nation accoring to GolfStat and are led by senior Kieran Vincent, who is the 46^th ranked player in the nation with a 70.99 scoring average. He was one of four Liberty players who finished under par last year as the Flames finished with a 20-under par team score of 832 to win by 13 shots.
 
North Florida (39) is right behind Liberty in the national rankings according to Golfstat.com, and the Ospreys are led by two-time ASUN Player of the Year Nick Gabrelcik. The sophomore comes into the tournament ranked 42^nd in the nation and carrying a 70.48 scoring average.
 
FGCU, which finished as the tournament runner-up last year, is ranked 53^rd in the nation entering the ASUN Championship this year.

Even with the successes of the spring season, the Hatters enter the championship ranked 232^nd in the nation, which is 10^th of the 12 teams in the league.
 
Over the last decade, the Hatters have had little success in the ASUN tournament. Stetson hasn't finished as high as the middle of the field (fifth) since 2012 when the team was led by Sam Ryder, who earned medalist honors that year.
 
Stetson also earned a fifth place finish in 2002 and a fourth place finish in 1993. Stetson's only victory in the ASUN Tournament came in 1990.
 
Play in the tournament will begin on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. The Hatters will play the opening round with players from Central Arkansas and North Alabama.
 
Live Scoring will be available throughout the tournament on Golfstat.com.
 
ASUN Men's Golf Team Rankings
GolfStat/GolfWeek
36/34 Liberty
39/33 North Florida
53/43 FGCU
108/102 Jacksonville
123/115 Lipscomb
158/154 Jacksonville State
189/186 Kennesaw State
220/224 Bellarmine
225/232 Eastern Kentucky
232/229 Stetson
255/259 Central Arkansas
N/A/170 North Alabama
 
Individual Rankings (top 200)
42/28 Nick Gabrelcik (So.) UNF
46/60 Kieran Vincent (Sr.) Liberty
125/138 Robbie Higgins (So.) UNF
132/159 Austin Duncan (Sr.) Liberty
157/154 Jonathan Yaun (Jr.) Liberty
183/178 Frankie Capan III (Jr.) FGCU
200/194 Austin Cherichella (So.) FGCU
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS. Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.