No. 2 Gulf Coast gets back on course Monday

PERKINSTON — No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast tees off the spring portion of its golf schedule Monday morning when the first round of the MGCCC Spring Invitational gets underway.

The blustery winter conditions the state went through last week are behind them, and the Bulldogs were able to practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in preparations.

"Man, are we ready," Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell said. "We had some decent weather in January and that got us interested, and all of the sudden we have this cold spell. We're chomping at the bits. We've had a little bit of practice, and the guys are really ready."

Unlike past years, the tournament at Windance Country Club will feature only six MACCC teams, with no out-of-conference participants. The first threesome tees off at 8 a.m. Monday, and the 36-hole event concludes Tuesday. There will be live scoring available at http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=21990.

The Bulldogs won three of four tournaments in the fall, and there are three more MACCC events scheduled for the spring. The state and region championships will be held in April.

Gulf Coast added international golfer Ethan Trouth (Fr, /Sutton Coldfield, England) over the Christmas break, and he'll be part of the five-man squad. Reeves Johnson (Fr, Germantown/Madison), Matt Wilkinson (Fr, Madison Central/Madison), Hayden Green (So, D'Iberville/Biloxi) and Chase Wilkinson (Fr, Madison Central/Madison) round out the team.

"They're working hard," Snell said. "Once we get into competing they'll work even harder. I like our chances. I've got some older kids, but the younger kids are really learning. My No. 1 and 2, Reeves and Matt, are freshmen. That's good for competition."

Dawson Thompson (Fr, Pascagoula/Pascagoula), Hayden Russell (Fr, Gautier/Gautier), Dawson Cudd (So, Stone/Wiggins), Cade Wilkinson (Fr, Madison Central/Madison) and Peyton Norwood will play as individuals. 

"The course is playing fast," Snell said. "This cold front has made these greens really fast. It's going to be windy. We've been playing in it all week, so we're ready for it." 

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.