Glendale Community College Men’s Golf Preview: Talent in place for Vaqueros in quest to move up in conference
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There will be plenty of opportunities this season for the Glendale Community College men’s golf team to meet its main goal of qualifying for the postseason.
First, the Vaqueros will need to navigate their way through the rugged Western State Conference, which includes several of the state’s top programs.
It’s a tall task, yet one the Vaqueros will look to accomplish.
“Our conference will always be tough, but you have to look at it like it’s a learning process,” said Glendale coach Todd Tyni, who took over the program in 2014. “You have to start by learning how to be comfortable playing against the talent that’s within the conference.
“Once you’ve done that, then you become confident with your play. That’s the way we go about it and they’ve been practicing getting ready for the season.”
Glendale finished fourth in conference last season behind College of the Canyons, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Canyons won the conference championship for the 10th straight season before capturing the California Community College Athletic Assn. State Championship for the fourth time in the past seven seasons.
The top three teams from the conference automatically qualify for the Southern California Regionals.
Glendale will field seven athletes who will look to put the Vaqueros in position to contend for a playoff appearance in May.
Glendale will be led by sophomores Peter Kim (Crescenta Valley High), Casey Syrek and Justin Del Rosario. They will be joined by freshmen Vincent Bedros and Jacob Smissen (St. Francis), Diamond Lew and Parker Philbrick.
“Things are looking pretty good and we have some new players,” Tyni said. “It could be one of our better teams.
“Peter, Casey and Justin are all solid and they’ll have decent seasons. The freshmen have shown a lot of promise and have been putting in the work. Overall, it’s a nice mix.”
Glendale will start conference competition Feb. 3 at Valencia Country Club.
The Vaqueros will host a conference match Feb. 10 at Oakmont Country Club. Glendale finished third at Oakmont last season behind Santa Barbara and Canyons.
The 36-hole conference tournament will be held April 27 at Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai.
The Southern California Regionals will occur May 3-4 at Olivas Lakes in Ventura. The state championship will take place May 10-11 at Bear Creek Golf Course in Murrieta.
