East Peoria, Ill. - Believe it or not, spring time is upon us, and part of that has been area golf courses starting to open perhaps a little bit earlier than they're used to. Another part of that is coach Sean Kennedy and the Illinois Central College men's golf team about to tee off with their Spring 2024 season. Coach Kennedy's Cougars will head southwest to Farmington, Missouri to open up the spring with Mineral Area Match Play at Crown Pointe Golf Course. 

ABOUT THE FALL SEASON
There is anything but a lack of optimism about the Men's Golf program after the successful fall the team had. After all, the Cougars won four tournaments: the Cougar Classic, the St. Francis Invitational, and Skyhawk Classic, and Clash at the Creek. On top of the team honors, Hunter Ficken and Peyton Woods powered the team to five individual medalist honors, with Ficken taking home two such honors and Woods taking home three. 

It was the end of the fall slate that the Cougars feel leaves some to be desired. Coach Kennedy adds that "a sour taste from the conclusion of the fall season produced a determined offseason,".

The Cougars hit the links at the venerable Warren Golf Course at the University of Notre Dame to finish that fall schedule, finishing 5th, and Peyton Woods taking medalist honors amidst a field that featured multiple four-year institutions. 

OFFSEASON PREPARATIONS
It didn't take long for ICC to get right to work in preparation for the spring season. A large part of that has been the ability to utilize the program's new simulator room, located underneath one half of the bleachers inside Ramsey Gym. As to how much work has been done in the high-quality space? "We've hit so many balls in our new Simulator room we wore on the new hitting mat," coach Kennedy added. 

NEW DJ SPINS IT WITH THE COUGARS
The Cougars were able to get a quality add in the midseason, adding DJ Norman, a transfer from NCAA D3 Illinois Wesleyan University, and a former IHSA All-Stater at Roanoke-Benson High School. 

"We're thrilled to welcome DJ to our Spring squad. DJ brings a championship golf resume, demonstrated academic success, and a competitive mindset. I am confident DJ will be an immediate contributor for the Cougar squad," Coach Kennedy said. 

SPRINGING AHEAD... ABOUT THE SPRING SCHEDULE
As mentioned, the Cougars tee off the spring schedule by partaking in the Mineral Area Match Play, which Coach Kennedy calls "an excellent team-building format and exciting to play". 

ICC will play consecutive tournaments on two of their home courses, with the Cougar Spring Preview (March 23rd-24th) taking place at Weaver Ridge in Peoria and the Cougar Clash (March 26th-27th) taking place at Coyote Creek in Bartonville. Those two courses just scratch the surface of what Coach Kennedy says makes the Cougars "fortunate" to have such home courses to utilize. 

ICC also heads out of state to the home of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Finkbine Golf Course, for the Verhille Invitational on April 16th & 17th. 

The Cougars won't have to go far at all for the Region Championships, as those will take place at Weibring GC, the home course for Illinois State University in Normal. 

The NJCAA National Tournament takes place at Joplin, Missouri's Twin Hills Country Club. Coach Kennedy says his team is "focused on returning" to Nationals, adding that he feels the group is "tested, confident, and anxious" to take the first step towards that goal. 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
2024 Mineral Area Match Play
Monday, March 11th - 9:00 AM
@ Crown Point Golf Course - Farmington, MO
Live Scoring Access/Link TBA