The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ross Discusses Postseason For Rebel Golfers
4/30/2008 | Athletics
Ole Miss head men's golf coach Ernest Ross recenty met with the media to discuss the strong season and NCAA Tournament hopes of his 25th-ranked Rebels. The transcript is below, and click above for free video of the press conferences with Ross and assistant coach Jonathan Dismuke.
Q: You’re pretty sure your team will be invited to the NCAA regionals, why are you so confident?
A: We’ve had a good year, and I do know that there will be 81 teams going to the NCAA regional. Currently we are ranked No. 25 so we’re pretty sure we’re going.
Q: Talk about the five players that will make up the NCAA team.
A: Kyle Ellis is a senior from Senatobia, Miss. He’s had an excellent year. He has struggled at times, but he’s a great leader on our team as a senior. He’s an outstanding driver of the ball. He has struggled a little bit with putting this year. We love having him on our team, and he had a much better tournament at the SEC championship, finishing 12th.
We also have another senior David Marino from
We have one junior on the team Jesse Speirs who is a transfer from
We have two freshmen playing for us this year. Jonathan Randolph is from Brandon, Miss. He has had seven rounds in the 60s this year, which is phenomenal for any freshman. He is one of the best players in the SEC, and we are really glad to have him. Another freshman is Johnny Delprete, a transfer from the
Q: What are the team’s strengths and weaknesses?
A: We are a pretty good driving team. We are longer than the average team in the NCAA and the SEC, although the SEC is a really strong golf conference. Matter of fact it is the strongest golf conference in the country, but as a team we are pretty good off the tee. If we struggle anywhere, it will be in our putting and short game. We do have one guy (Dave Marino) among the leaders in short game in the nation, which is outstanding because he is a pretty long hitter. I would say our overall weakness is our short game and putting, but we are working on it everyday.
Q: Reason for improvement in program.
A: No. 1, we have recruited some really good players. We’ve have some good players here, and I’m happy we got them. We’ve got a great recruiting class coming in here next year, and I’m very pleased to have the new guys we’ve got coming in. It starts with recruiting, but also includes player development. We’ve done a really good job of helping the guys see where they need to get better. Any golfer that doesn’t have a weakness in his game is going to be a really good player, so I am happy with what they’ve done. Coach (Jonathan) Dismuke and I work with them everyday. I give Coach Dismuke a lot of credit; he’s an outstanding teacher also. Right before or right after the SECs, Coach Dismuke found a little swing drill that seems to have helped Jesse Speirs, and I am fired up about how he is hitting the ball right now and really looking forward to seeing him play in the NCAA regional.
Q: Talk about the renovations to the golf course.
A: The Ole Miss Golf Course is targeted to re-open in August of this year. I am really excited about it, and our players are really excited about it. We’re developing a new practice facility right next to the Whitten Golf House which is at the Ole Miss Golf Course. We’ve got a new short game facility going in, with a brand new bent grass putting green. That will help us tremendously, because we play on bent grass about half the year. There will also be a 100 yard and in short game area with Bermuda grass target green. When players get to college the area where they make the most improvement is in their short game, so I am real excited about what we’ve got coming. We’ve improved every year that I’ve been here, and I think we’ll see a better team next year.
