Page 63 - WilmU Spring Summer 2013

earning the conference’s Rookie of the Year
award this season.
“I need to put the best talent out on the
course and get to within the Top 5 in the country
in the next two years,” Jennings said of his
short-term goals. “We have to start doing what
the Top 10 teams in the nation are doing and
get the players that want to play all year round.
There are a lot of international players playing at
the Division II level right now.”
A part of being able to get the international
student-athletes to the team is the level of
tournaments into which Jennings has been
entering theWildcats. Instead of hanging
around the Northeast where it may not be
warm enough to play outside at the start of the
season, Jennings is taking his team to square
off against the nation’s best in tournaments in
Florida, Alabama and even California.
“Playing against the best teams helps gain
confidence in each of the student-athletes when
we return home to play in the CACC and East/
Atlantic Super Regional,” Jennings continued.
“Also, when a recruit sees that we are playing
in these tournaments across the country, they
want to be a part of that excitement. We have to
challenge our kids to make it a be er program
and that is where the tougher schedule comes
into play.”
Jennings isn’t finished with Lunding as the
only international piece on his team. Also on
the 2013 squad is Tomasz Pulsakowski, who
came to the United States to play at Seminole
State College before coming toWilmington for
his final two years. Pulsakowski has been a big
help to the program this year and is a native of
Wroclaw, Poland. The 2014 squad will be even
more internationally deep, with student-athletes
fromDenmark and South Korea coming to join
theWildcats.
As for this year’s CACC Tournament, Tighe
earned back-to-back medalist honors for the
second year in a row, topping the leaderboard
at the end of the tournament. He backed his
first round score of 74 with a 76 in the second
round to jump the day one leader and win the
tournament. Tighe beat out teammate Jerry
Temple, who shot a 74-77 for a 151 (+7) to place
second overall.
Lunding shot a 76-77 for a 153 (+9) for the
Wildcats third team score while Andrew Baldo
rounded out the scoring with a 75-82 for a 157
(+13) to se le on the 611 two-round total.
For their efforts, Tighe, Temple, and Lunding
were all honored as a member of the 2013 Men’s
Golf All-Tournament Team.
Jennings has led the team to theWilmington
University athletic department’s first Regional
Championship, taking home the 2012 NCAA
Division II East/Atlantic Super Regional
Championship while also being the first team to
reach the National Championship Tournament,
placing 19th in 2011, and 17th overall in 2012. WU
SPRING/SUMMER