Michael Peters looks to return to his all-conference form this spring.

With its fourth-place finish at the Hiram College Invitational to close the fall, The College of Wooster moved into the top-four in the North Coast Athletic Conference Golf Championship Series, and will head into the spring season looking to maintain that status for the third time in the last four years.

The Fighting Scots, with a strong sophomore class leading the charge, leapfrogged Wabash College to take a 12-stroke lead over the Little Giants, and sit just 27 behind third-place Allegheny College with two more tournaments (five rounds) to come this spring. Wittenberg University, Ohio Wesleyan University, and Allegheny finished 1-2-3 at both NCAC fall events.

Fourteenth-year head coach Rich Danch was certainly encouraged by those results from Wooster's youthful squad. "Our team … improved throughout the fall and now we simply want to continue on that path. The finish of the fall bolstered our confidence, which we intend to carry over to spring."

Sophomore Blake Sword has propelled himself into the team's No. 1 spot, as he placed among the top-10 in three of the four tournaments during the fall, while dropping his scoring average from last season's 80.3 to 77.1 strokes per round. Sword's best outing was at the Denison Fall Classic, where he finished sixth overall (149), including a career-low 72 during the second day.

"Blake is a quality ball-striker, but simply needed to improve in some of the areas of the short game," commented Danch. "His putting, chipping, pitching, and bunker play all improved. As he continues to tie these skill areas together, I expect we'll see even better numbers from Blake."

Fellow sophomore Michael Peters, who earned second-team all-NCAC status as a freshman, had a few uncharacteristic scores through the fall. He holds an 82.6 average, but finished strong, posting a 73 in his last round of the fall, which was the fourth-lowest total among the 47 participants at the Hiram tourney.

"The fall scores were an anomaly for Michael in my opinion," Danch said. "Michael looks to be the player that his freshman campaign suggests that he would be and we fully expect him to be our most consistent player. He is a very detail-oriented player who serves as a good model for the rest of the team."

Rounding out the Scots' sophomores are Tim Faerber and Greg Benckart, who both were consistent contributors during the fall. Faerber had the best Wooster finish at the NCAC Fall Invitational, nabbing 12th-place with rounds of 75 and 80, while Benckart showed flashes of his talent as well, culminating in a season-low 79 in his second-to-last round of the fall.

Senior Tim Sullivan stands at 86.1 strokes per round, but shot below that on several occasions, including a season-low 77 at the NCAC Fall Invitational. He'll look to pick up steam in the spring, as will senior Tim Boardman and junior Tim Golding. Freshman Adam Finck, a transfer from Butler University, joins the team in the spring and will battle for a spot in the lineup as well.