The winter is just about over, and for many Georgia Southern University students the spring-like weather here in February is sure to bring up the urge to play golf.
The GSU golf team has felt that urge, and it will be competing in its first golf tournament of the new year in Gainesville, Fla. to show its skills in the Gator Invitational this weekend.
The tournament will be held at the Mark Bostic Golf Course. The 6,701-yard par-70 course is short by professional standards but is still considered a very physically and mentally challenging course.
Even though this tournament will be the first of this semester, it isn’t the first of the golf season. The Eagles have already participated in five tournaments last semester.
GSU, as a team, achieved three top-five finishes amongst those five tournaments.
Business major Lewis Gruber is the only senior on the team and he’s expected to lead his team to impressive scores throughout the rest of the season.
Gruber has made three top-10 finishes out of the five tournaments so far this season. Last year, he made second place in the Southern Conference tournament with his career low 54-hole round of 208 strokes. This helped the Eagles win the tournament.
As the defending SoCon tournament champions, the Eagles are currently fifth in  conference rankings with six tournaments to go.
The head coach of the Eagles, Larry Mays, has been coaching the team for 11 years.  During his first year in the 2000-2001 season, he led the team to its first postseason appearance since 1988.
Due to that performance, Mays earned the 2001 “Coach of the Year” award. An award he’d later win for a second time during the 2008-2009 season.
Since starting his tenure at GSU, Mays has led the Eagles to three SoCon championship victories and nine NCAA Regional Championship appearances.
Performances in those regional championships earned the Eagles the chance to play in four NCAA National Championships.
Students will have the chance to cheer for their team here in Statesboro later this season in March at the 33rd annual Schenkel Invitational. Teams in the field include University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Florida, University of Notre Dame, the University of Mississippi, and University of Kentucky.