The Auburn Men's golf team teed off their season with a number 11 ranking in the GolfWeek/Sagarin poll.
The Tigers were awarded the ranking Sept. 22 after finishing fourth in their first tournament of the season, the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Dalton, Ga.
At the Carpet Capital Collegiate, Auburn beat Alabama and Georgia, the number three and four teams in the nation, respectively.
Sophomore golfer Kyle Kopsick, a history major, said that the team was excited to learn of their ranking.
"We know that we're that good so we're excited to be ranked and we want to keep it up there the rest of the year," Kopsick said. "There aren't that many tournaments in the database but it's still exciting to be ranked like that."
The database is the GolfWeek database; a tool used to rank all of the college golf teams.
"Jeff Sagarin's rating system is based on a mathematical formula that uses a player's won-lost-tied record against other players when they play on the same course on the same day, and the stroke differential between those players, then links all players to one another based on common opponents," according to the GolfWeek Web site. "The ratings give an indication of who is playing well over the past 52 weeks."
Jeff Sagarin is a sports statistician who works with the NCAA basketball tournament selection committee and the Bowl Championship Series in NCAA football.
The Tigers' number 11 ranking is a step up from their previous season. Auburn finished the 2008-2009 season ranked 63rd in the GolfWeek/Sagarin rankings.
"We had a rough year last year," Kopsick said. "We were all excited to get back and improve this year."
Senior Cole Moreland, a finance major, attributed the golf team's recent success to first-year head coach, Nick Clinard.
"With our new coach everyone didn't know what to expect, but he gave us a fresh start," Moreland said. "The team has had a much more positive environment, a lot of positive reinforcement. Coach Clinard wants us to get it done on and off the course."
Clinard came to Auburn from the University Central Florida, where he was the head golf coach for eight years.
"It's a big step up from Conference USA to the SEC," said Clinard. "Everyone has been great. There's been lots of support and kindness from the athletic department and Jay Jacobs."
Clinard seems to have handled the transition well from Conference USA to the Southeastern Conference, at least according to his players.
"He re-emphasized a lot of little things like schoolwork and work outs which gives us a lot of confidence in him," Kopsick said. "And the best confidence you can get is from playing well."
The golf team plans to use their high level of confidence to bolster their playing throughout the rest of the season.
"We're playing well right now, we have a lot of confidence," Kopsick said." We will definitely compete and that's all you can expect."
The Tigers' next test is in Tampa, Fla., at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate.
Moreland is confident in his team's ability to perform well at the Intercollegiate.
"We're definitely taking a strong team down there," Moreland said. "We're co-hosting the tournament with Kentucky so it would be nice to win our own tournament."
As for Clinard, he is excited about the Tampa tournament and the rest of the season.
"We are headed to Tampa next week," Clinard said. "It will be a good test for us. Great programs can sustain a high ranking and that is what we plan on doing."
Auburn is currently ranked 21st in the GolfWeek/Sagarin ratings as of Oct. 1.
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