Oklahoma State Leads Coaches Poll


The first Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Coaches' Poll of the fall season has been released, combining the resources of Golf World magazine, Nike Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

The complete results, including results from Divisions II, III and the NAIA, will appear in the September 28th issue of Golf World and can be viewed online at www.golfworld.com.

Oklahoma State remains the No. 1 team in the poll, earning 14 of the 25 first-place votes. The Cowboys finished second at this past weekend's Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, their first tournament of the fall, with senior Trent Whitekiller claiming a share of medalist honors.

Rounding out the top five are Washington (No. 2), which won the Topy Cup in Japan to start its season; Stanford (No. 3); Alabama (No. 4); and Arizona State (No. 5), which took the team title at Olympia Fields.

UNLV was the lone team outside the top 25 to jump into the top 15 of the poll, moving to No. 13 after a decisive victory at the William H. Tucker Invitational. Another big mover was Tennessee, jumping from No. 18 to sixth after winning the Carpet Capital Collegiate two weekends ago.

Illinois (No. 7) and Georgia Tech (No. 8) also moved into the top 10, after being ranked Nos. 12 and 11, respectively, in the preseason coaches' poll. Chattanooga (No. 21) and Augusta State (No. 25) moved into the top 25.

Below is the complete poll.

Men's Division I (Rank Team Points Last)

1. Oklahoma State (14) 608 1
2. Washington (8) 572 2
3. Stanford (1) 536 5
4. Alabama 451 4
5. Arizona State 449 6
6. Tennessee (1) 418 18
7. Illinois 406 12
8. Georgia Tech 369 11
9. Southern California 363 10
10. Florida 360 9
11. Arkansas 332 8
12. Texas A&M 331 7
13. UNLV 322 NR
14. Florida State 275 25
15. Georgia (1) 272 3
16. N.C. State 232 13
17. South Carolina 209 15
18. LSU 205 17
19. TCU 200 14
20. UCLA 156 16
21. Chattanooga 139 NR
22. Texas 136 23
23. Clemson 135 19
24. Duke 129 20
25. Augusta State 79 NR

Also receiving votes: Texas Tech, 62; San Diego State, 60; North Carolina, 52; Michigan, 42; SMU, 37; Oregon, 33; Wake Forest, 29; Auburn, 21; Baylor, 17; Colorado St., 17; Iowa, 14; Northwestern, 14; Arizona, 9; Mississippi, 9; Coastal Carolina, 8; Indiana, 5; North Florida, 3; Cal, 2; Georgia Southern, 2; Minnesota, 2; Virginia, 2; UCF, 1.

First-place votes in parenthesis.