By Curtis Acosta
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The good news is that another member of the Arizona men's golf team showed remarkable improvement in Austin, Texas, this week.
The bad news is that Tim Beans and Ted Purdy, two of the Wildcats' top golfers, did not.
Arizona finished seventh at the Cleveland Golf/Morris Williams Intercollegiate, as Benjamin Nicolay ended as the Wildcats' top finisher. Nicolay shot three consistent rounds and finished tied for 12th place for the tournament, which should prove to be a positive foundation for him.
UA head coach Rick LaRose said he was pleased with Nicolay's play and expects more out of the Arizona senior.
"He's been playing great all year," LaRose said. "He's probably our number one player right now."
The Wildcats had a disappointing tournament in the fact that they finished in the bottom half of the field. But then again, they ended up only two strokes behind top-ranked Oklahoma State. Arizona's two top performers of the year, Purdy and Beans, had disappointing tournaments, finishing 33rd and 36th, respectively. LaRose said he expects the two players to rebound in the next few weeks.
"He (Beans) is a little tired right now," LaRose said. "He's either really good, or not so good. Tim is never mediocre."
LaRose was equally confident in Purdy's play.
"He played very well in Houston. He tripped a little bit last week," LaRose said. "We've got a week off. They'll be ready to go."
The UA now has two weeks to regroup before they compete April 8 at the Ping American Intercollegiate in Raleigh, N.C.