Thursday October 11, 2001

As the fall golf season rolls on, disappointments for the Wildcats continue to pile up.

The Taylor Made Red River Classic, held in Dallas, provided the setting for another letdown. The team finished in 11th place with a combined 866, 2-over par. The score was the lowest posted by the team this season, but they still finished a distant 32 strokes back of the Texas Longhorns, who ran away with the tournament.

Although the team as a whole might continue to struggle, sophomore Chris Nallen provided the team with its lowest individual finish of the season. The New Jersey native's 8-under par was good enough for a sixth-place finish overall.

Nallen hopes he can build on this performance.

"My confidence level is up," Nallen said. "If I made some more putts, my score would have been even lower."

Nallen said the team is definitely feeling the pressure of the lofty pre-season expectations.

"I think we are all a bit anxious," Nallen said. "We were ranked really high in the beginning of the season, but we need to just have it happen"

Head coach Rick LaRose still isn't ready to hit the panic button, however.

"Three guys (Nallen, junior Ricky Barnes and junior Reid Hatley) have played pretty decent," LaRose said. "But you have to have five guys play well to win. That's where we are struggling."

Nallen also said a complete team effort is going to be necessary.

"It's tough to stay consistent," Nallen said. "The four and five guys just have to step up. We are going to have to learn from our mistakes."

Kipp Riehle and Nathan Lashley, two freshmen who have rounded out the top five so far this year, struggled again this weekend.

"Having two freshmen right off the bat, they are going to have to take their lumps," LaRose said. "Freshmen will make mistakes."

Riehle finished 14-over par, and Lashley finished with a disappointing 16-over par.

LaRose said he wants to build for the future but also said it's important the team wins right now. And he isn't sure if that will happen with such inconsistent play.

"We are going to spend our time and see if we can find a few fresh bodies," LaRose said. "Our roster isn't set for this weekend."

The Wildcats will travel to Birmingham, Ala., Monday and Tuesday to compete in the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate Championship.