Sea Beggar Golf Sets Sail

With a fresh new year in 2024, the Providence Christian College men's golf team looks forward to starting the year strong, positively improving for the season ahead. The team returns five players from the 2022-2023 campaign and added a freshman transfer at the break. There is great excitement around the season and the addition of another stick as the group of six look to compete for a California Pacific Conference championship.  

The Beggars are led by three graduating student-athletes, Hayden Hughes, Trey Kirschner, and Sean Vann. This group looks to finish their Providence Christian College Men's Golf careers with a bang and set the program up for years of success ahead. According to the national college golf stat software, Scoreboard powered by Clippd, Trey Kirschner has an average score of 75.4 from all the rounds he's played at Providence and aims to remain focused and continually improve his scores. As Trey kicks off his final season, he is looking to push himself to compete harder and hopes to have a fruitful ending. When asked about this new spring season and what he anticipates, Trey answered, "I am really looking forward to this spring season. It is my final competitive season, which is a little sad but also pushes me to perform better and finish strong. The team is looking strong, and the environment is at the best it has been since I arrived in 2021. The spring will be very busy, but I cannot wait to spend time with the team at our tournaments, especially the trip for spring break. Hayden, Sean, and I want to leave this program in a great spot, and ending our time at Providence with a Cal Pac Conference championship win will do just that."

When asked what he sees from his teammates that motivates him, senior Hayden Hughes replied, "I am really excited for this upcoming season, not just for creating memories with my teammates but for performing on the course as well! I'm seeing hard work and great things done by my teammates on and off the course. All my teammates are hard workers, and I can't wait to see what we will do in tournaments." When asked what this final season means to him, senior Sean Vann responded, "One thing that I found at Providence is a deeper purpose to why I play golf. I no longer seek to play golf for myself but have a greater desire to play for God, and I want to dedicate this whole spring season to Him. I have found in the past that my expectations and attitude towards the game have been misplaced, and I desire that I can appreciate every part of this unique experience of being a collegiate golfer and glorify Him in the process."

In addition to the three seniors, the Sea Beggars return juniors Liam Argue and Malik Edd.  Argue and Edd will give the team depth and help build a competitive environment to push the team forward. As it is motivating to see all of their teammates work hard and have the desire to finish the year strong, Argue and Edd are working consistently to reduce their scores in order to help the team week in and week out. 

When asked what he's anticipating this spring, Sea Beggar Head Coach Marc Lengtat replied, "I am very excited for this spring season. I am excited to see this team perform as we try to put ourselves in contention. We have a full schedule ahead of us, and we are hosting the Cal Pac Conference Championship, which is exciting for me but also for the team. I look forward to everything we do as a team; the team works hard every week in the weight room, on the course, and in the classroom and I'm excited to watch their hard work pay off." When asked what the goal was for the team, Lengtat answered, "All together, my main goal for our team is to glorify Christ in all we do. My players are Christian Student Athletes, and the order of those words matters, so I expect these men to Glorify Christ on the golf course, in the classroom, in their church, in their community, and personally. As a golf team, the goal is to win the conference championship. We have a good shot this year as long as we put ourselves in contention in the tournaments leading up to the conference championships. I am hoping to see some individual growth, as each person has been putting a lot of work into their game. Academically, as a golf team, we did a great job in the classroom, with a team average of 3.38 GPA and I'm hoping the team can exceed that when the season concludes."

As Coach Lengtat was looking to improve his program and add new athletes in the years to come, he found someone who was a great fit for the team starting this spring. Mateusz Zarzycki, who was born in Poland and started his college career in Kentucky, transferred to Providence Christian College to have a fresh new start in his golf career. Mateusz was asked what he was looking forward to in this new environment and any goals he had for the upcoming tournaments, and he replied, "I look forward to improving my skills, bonding with my teammates, competing in tournaments, and enjoying the overall experience of being part of the team. I'm competitive and want to do well, which can help our team perform better overall. My goal is to play under par for a whole tournament, win a tournament with the team, and also win a tournament as an individual." Sean gave a shout-out to Mateusz's work ethic and hope for the future: "[Mateusz] is going to really help shape and challenge the team. He is a very hard worker and has a lot of skill in all aspects of his game. I'm very excited to see how he performs in tournaments, which, by the sounds of it, is going to make a lot of people look over their shoulders as he will be putting himself in contention in many of these tournaments."

When asked what he sees in Mateusz that can benefit the men's golf team, Coach Lengtat responded, "Mateusz has been a great addition to the team; he is a hard worker and has pushed the rest of the team to a higher standard. He is fresh, so he is looking to make a place on this team, and I am excited to watch him battle out there on the course with the team. It is cool to watch someone new come into the program and immediately feel a change of attitude on the team. So he has been a great addition, and I look forward to watching him make his place in the program." 

Coach Lengtat is a first-year coach for Providence Christian College, and the team is amazed by his leadership and the impact he is having for all athletes on the team. Sean acknowledged this: "I would also like to make mention that much of the change within the team has been led by our new coach, Marc Lengtat. I think he exceeded many expectations that anyone would have of a first-year coach, and the team is definitely in good hands for many years to come." Mateusz also recognized what an impact Coach Lengtat has had on him: "Coach Lengtat's belief in our team's potential and his unconditional support, regardless of how we perform, motivate me. Knowing he's behind us no matter what gives me confidence to push myself and take risks. His encouragement inspires me to strive for success and contribute to the team's goals this season."

The Sea Beggars are confident this will be the best season in the men's program history as they look to build upon the foundation laid by those that came before them. As for the individuals finishing up their careers, each one wants to leave a positive impact on the program with the addition of a championship win and are putting in the required effort to achieve that goal. The team opens the 2024 campaign at the La Verne Invitational at Dos Lagos Golf Course from February 12–13, 2024. Go and cheer on the golf team as they set sail in a positive trajectory towards a Cal Pac Conference championship.