The Bruin golf team enters this season with high hopes. Last season, the team brought home the class four state title from Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, shooting a combined 640, edging DeSmet by eight strokes.
This year, the Bruins return with their two top golfers, seniors Jack Knoesel and Matt Echelmeier. Both Knoesel and Echelmeier are four-year starters and two time all-state players.
Last year, then-juniors Echelmeier and Knoesel propelled the Bruins into the state tournament. Until the end, Echelmeier was in the hunt for an individual state title before taking second and Knoesel claimed all-state honors with an eighth place finish.
For Echelmeier, the title was a long time coming.
“It was a feeling of relief, all that hardwork we put in the last couple weeks,” Echelmeier said. “There were flashbacks here and there where we had some struggles, like at sectionals were we didn’t even quite win, but to know that we won was definitely a sigh of relief.”
During the offseason, both Knoesel and Echelmeier worked hard to improve their game.
“I went to Florida for awhile with my parents and practiced there,” Knoesel said. “I’ll go to Gustin everyday and chip and putt around inside and I have a mat around back I’ll hit balls on.”
Echelmeier also worked to develop his physique along with the mental aspects of golf.
“I’ve tried working out, trying to get a little stronger. Obviously I’m not the strongest but golf is more things like core trying to create some speed,” Echelmeier said. “I play a lot over the summer and in tournaments so the feeling of golf now in tournament play is coming more naturally.”
Also, during the offseason, both Knoesel and Echelmeier committed to play college golf at the Division I level. For Knoesel, already committing takes some pressure off this season, yet he has discovered a changed mind set.[vc_text_separator title=”Swinging into college golf: why did you choose your school?” title_align=”separator_align_center” align=”align_center” color=”grey”]“It was the best fit for me the coach is a good guy. The campus is sweet. Another part of that is the school’s values really align with mine.”
—Jack Knoesel, University of Tulsa“It just seems like the place for me to be. I’ve been a Mizzou fan my whole life, and my brother is already there, so I’ll get to play with him, and I like the course they play at, Old Hawthorne. It is definitely a good fit for me.”
—Matt Echelmeier, University of Missouri“I’m not worried about what school I’m going to, but then on the flip side I’m thinking about how I stack up against the guys on those teams now,” Knoesel said. “It’s not like I’m putting pressure on myself, but it’s in the back of your mind, playing every day like a college golfer would. I hold myself to a higher standard now because in half a year I’m going to try to compete on a Division I level and so now I want to see myself playing like a Division I golfer.”
Along with Knoesel and Echelmeier, the Bruins also return letterwinners senior Ben Humphreys and junior Stephen Sowers. A new season brings new players, and Knoesel and Echelmeier pointed to freshman Hudson Dubinski as a potential starter. Dubinski’s older brother, Jackson Dubinksi, alumnus 2014, played golf for the Bruins. While watching his brother play, Hudson learned a few things about high school golf.
“Basically being patient, never giving up because you’re playing for your teammates not just yourself,” Dubinski said. “Jack [Knoesel] and Matt [Echelmeier] are great players. I’d like to give a shoutout to them, maybe one day I’ll be like them, but yeah I’ve kind of set a goal to be on varsity and try and have a breakout season and I’ll do what I can to put myself in that position.”
As far as team goals go, Knoesel, Echelmeier and Dubinski are eager to compete for a state title and are optimistic about their chances.
“The team is going to be good,” Knoesel said. “I’ve already told people this, but I think it’s going to be the best team we’ve had in a long time because Matt and I are coming back, and then we have a lot of talent coming up. I think everyone is motivated to get another state title. As for myself I want to win pretty much everything, so I know I’m motivated.”