Season Preview – 2022-23 Men's Golf

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College men's golf team returns to action this September as the Presidents set their sights on another Presidents' Athletic Conference championship title once again after placing second in the 2021-22 season. W&J begins their fall campaign when they compete in the Drew University Gauntlet Invitational on Sept. 11-12.

2021-2022 Season Review: The Presidents once again had a strong season as they posted seven top three team finishes in 2021-22 including one first place finish, three second place finishes, and three third place finishes scattered across the fall and spring schedules. This also includes a second place finish at the PAC Championships.

Colin Robinson (Inverness, Ill./William Fremd) guided the way for W&J with a gem of a performance. Robinson secured a first place finish after he posted an opening round of 68 and an average between the three rounds of 71.67. This marked Robinson's second medalist honor at the PAC Championships in as many tries. He earned Player of the Year honors. 

Juan Caputi joined Robinson on the First Team. Caputi finished fifth with a three-round score of 228. 

Matthew Lacek (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) earned All-PAC Honorable Mention with his 11th place finish. The newcomer compiled a 54-hole total of 245. 

W&J finished at 936 (300-306-330) to finish second behind Westminster's team score of 892 (293-292-307) to end the 2021-22 championships. Robinson also earned All-Region honors and was named a Division III PING All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

Along with these accolades for his stellar sophomore season, Robinson was announced as an All-American Scholar with Caputi.

"The team will be strong and I expect them to contend for the conference championship. We return PAC Player of the Year Colin Robinson, as well as Matt Lacek and Dawson Thornton. We also added six newcomers, who all have successful competitive backgrounds. That will make competition among the team stronger than the past few years," said Kluck. "When this team plays to its capabilities, it will be tough to beat and the competition amongst the team will push them to get better."

PAC Preseason Poll: 2nd of 9 Teams

School (first-place votes)                    Points     2021-22 Conference Championships finish
1. Westminster College (4)                        68        1st (of 7) at PAC Championships, 892 [293-292-307]
2. Washington & Jefferson College (2)  62        2nd (of 7) at PAC Championships, 936 [300-306-330]
3. Allegheny College (3)                             61        4th (of 9) at NCAC Championships, 931 [322-291-318]
4. Thiel College                                          49        3rd (of 7) at PAC Championships, 969 [312-308-349]
5. Grove City College                                 46        4th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 970 [304-315-351]
6. Waynesburg University                          36        5th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1015 [333-337-345]
7. Geneva College                                     30        6th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1035 [334-345-356]
8. Saint Vincent College                            28        7th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1050 [338-344-368]
9. Bethany College                                    17        Only completed spring round of PAC Championships


PAC Players To Watch: Colin Robinson, Matt Lacek, Luke Lestini, Cade Patterson, and Andrew Platt

Team Captain: Colin Robinson

Returners: Kluck hopes that the runner-up finish this past spring will give the returners some extra motivation as the Presidents hope to add to their conference-high 20 PAC team titles.

"Juan (Caputi) was a terrific member on the golf program. His leadership and low-scoring ability will be missed greatly. Juan was an Academic All-American, who was very determined to succeed and that is an infectious trait to the team," stated Kluck. "I will be looking for the same type of determined mindset and leadership ability from our newcomers. We will see who takes that bull by the horns. I hope it is all of them!"

Senior Colin Robinson will be entering his second year as team captain for the Red and Black, as he looks to build off of his PAC Player of the Year performance from a season ago. Robinson averaged a score of 74.38 during the 2021-22 season. Robinson also was an All-PAC First Team performer last year and earned PAC Golfer of the Week honors twice (April 13 and April 22).

"Colin is one of two players in the history of the W&J golf team to earn PAC Player of the Year, Academic All-American and receive All America honors as a player. The other is Mike Grasso," said Kluck. "Colin has worked all summer long to hone his skills and he will be the player to beat at the conference championship.  I expect at least a comparable season to last but wouldn't be surprised if he exceeded his previous performances."

Matthew Lacek (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) will be returning for his second season with the Presidents as he looks to build off of his productive first season. He finished with an average score of 80.85 with his best finish coming in at a tie for fourth place at the W&J Invitational.

Dawson Thornton (Mooresville, N.C./Pinelake Prep) returns for his final year with W&J as he looks to contribute to the team. Thornton earned All-PAC Honorable Mention in 2020-21 following his sophomore season. 

"They need to put the numbers on the board during their tournament rounds. They are both very talented players who can expect to see better results this year," said Kluck. "They will have to be on top of their games because the six newcomers will be pushing them very hard for a starting spot."

Thornton has been a consistent player for W&J, consistently finishing among W&J's top five players. He capped off last season with an 84 score average with his highest finish coming in at a tie for seventh place at the W&J Invitational.

Newcomers: W&J welcomes six new faces into the mix to help develop the future of W&J Golf.

"I think the newcomers are going to make a big impact on the team. I see them all having the chance to be in the top five on the team, competed for all-conference honors and contribute to a PAC team title," said Kluck.

Chase Crissman            Irwin, Pa. / Penn Trafford    
Luke Eckmann                Clancy, MT / Jefferson    
Luke Lestini                Bridgeville, Pa. / South Fayette    
Cade Patterson             Irwin, Pa. / Penn Trafford
Andrew Platt                Somerset, Pa. / Somerset    
Matt Tokarczyk                Everett, Pa. / Bedford

Coaching Staff: Matt Kluck (California University of PA '79) enters his eighth year as the head of the Washington & Jefferson men's and women's golf programs for the 2022-23 school year. During the spring of 2022, the W&J men's and women's teams both earned runner-up team finishes at the annual PAC Championships. The men were led by junior Colin Robinson, who once again claimed medalist honors as the PAC individual champion. Kluck also coached freshman Christina McGinnis to PAC Women's Golf Newcomer of the Year honors.

Looking At The Schedule: Five competitions are on the horizon for this fall in the lead up to the PAC Championships in Warren, Ohio on Oct. 12-13. W&J kicks off its 2022-23 fall slate with a trip to the Gauntlet Invitational on Sept. 11.

Then W&J hits the road again to travel to the following invitational events: Grove City (Sept. 15), Westminster (Sept. 19), Allegheny (Sept. 25-26), and will travel to the Waynesboro Country Club to wrap up the season for the Mason Dixon Collegiate

Classic (Oct. 1-2). The PAC Championships will be held in Warren, Ohio at Avalon Lakes from Oct. 12-13.

Final Word From Kluck: "Our goal is to win the conference championship, the individual championship, the newcomer of the year and go to the NCAAs every year.  If we come up short then we didn't reach our goal."