Depth and talent aplenty, the Wiliam Penn golf team feels its chances of winning a league crown and qualifying for its first-ever national tournament are stronger than ever in 2008.

Third-year co-head coaches Steve Tucker and Wade Steinlage will rely not only on a solid crew of returners, but also a wide selection of freshmen and transfers that expect to fight for the Midwest Collegiate Conference crown.

The team, which owned the crown as cellar-dwellers during the 2004-05 season, has improved to the middle of the pack (fourth of nine teams) this past year and had the program’s first league tournament medalist in 32 years in Cole Reiman.

Unfortunately, Reiman and two other varsity members from last year have since graduated, so the Statesmen will be looking for a few members to step up and fill those voids.

Outside of Reiman, Nik Rule (Jr., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Skyline HS) was the team’s most consistent player last season. The junior has been cast as the leader of this year’s team after owning a 77.8 stroke average over 17 rounds of competition during 2007-2008. The junior finished as high as 11th at last spring’s MCC Championships and scored in the 70s in 12 of his 17 rounds.

“Nik has been tremendous since joining our team two years ago,” Tucker said. “He is a great competitor and an awesome leader, on and off the course. There is no doubt that he will be the foundation of our squad.”

Fellow returners Cameron Armitage (So., Delta, B.C., North Delta HS), Cory Sheeley (Jr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS), Eric Slings (So., Oskaloosa, English Valleys HS), Joel Stevenson (So., Pella, Pella Christian HS), Lucas Troyer (Jr., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS), and Seth Vernon (So., Knoxville, Knoxville HS) will also give Penn experience entering the 2007-08 year.

Armitage, Stevenson, and Troyer have all competed at the varsity level in the past, while Vernon travelled with the varsity as an individual competitor and witnessed firsthand what it takes to be a great college golfer. Stevenson has the best 2006-07 finish of any returner as well, placing fifth at the Simpson Spring Invitational.

“We have a really good group of guys returning,” Tucker said. “They have that extra year of experience under their belts, so hopefully they have grown and will be that much better this season.”

The coaching staff is also very excited about the program’s new additions as players will be coming from several different states and even from a foreign country.

Brian Lawson (Jr., Omaha, Neb., Iowa Western CC) has possibly the best chance to steal a varsity spot after being the top player for Iowa Western CC a year ago.

Fellow transfers Caleb Herman (So., Crawfordsville, WACO HS) and Austin Stevens (Jr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) also look to add depth.

Gavin Miles (Fr., East London, South Africa, Selborne College) is likely the most intriguing newcomer, however, after a very successful junior career in which he took home an abundance of hardware. Fellow freshmen Ian Minder (Muscatine, Muscatine HS), Tommy Rallo (Rocky Mount, Mo., Eldon HS), and Justin Stewart (Oquawka, Ill., Notre Dame-West Burlington HS) have also all proven themselves worthy at the prep level and could very possibly earn varsity letters in their first collegiate campaigns.

“We are extremely excited about the potential of our new players,” Tucker said. “They come from all over, but they all have one thing in common: they want to win and will do all that it takes to make that happen.”

Tyson Bowen (Fr., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Skyline HS), Nate Early (Fr., Pella Christian, Pella Christian HS), and Rob Sandburg (So., Fort Madison, Fort Madison HS) will also look to push their teammates this season.