A Liberty men's doubles tandem walks along the path at Ivy Hill Golf Course during last spring's Flamethrower Invitational.
Disc golfers set to open season with first Mid-Atlantic qualifier this weekend in Pennsylvania
10/18/2023 3:02:00 PM | Disc Golf
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The Flames and Lady Flames have reloaded their ranks and now have a roster of 30 players, including eight women.
As it prepares for this weekend's first Mid-East regional tournament of the season, Liberty University's disc golf team has experienced a windfall of new players in the rapidly expanding sport, with 45 student-athletes trying out this fall for 30 travel squad positions.
Besides the 22 men who made the cut, enough to field five teams of four in the various divisions, the Lady Flames will feature eight women's players to form four tandems for tournament play, starting with Saturday's and Sunday's Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship in Beaver Springs, Pa.
"That's more ladies than we have had in a long time," Liberty Head Coach Steve Bowman said, noting that their experience levels are "all across the board."
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Maggie Presley (left) and Julia DiMartino return to lead the Lady Flames this season.
"We have three that are really new, one with a little experience, and two of our top ladies back from last season," he said, noting that includes senior Maggie Presley and graduate Julia DiMartino, who teamed up to win the Flamethrower women's title last spring. DiMartino is going through concussion protocols after a summer injury.
"We are trying to get (DiMartino) healthy," Bowman said. "We are so excited to have some freshmen playing and obviously our seniors are going to lead well. They're doing a good job of teaching the younger players (fundamental techniques)."
On the men's side, the Flames return graduate Tim Schmidt and sophomore Jonah Burdick, both of whom had professional playing experience over the summer, along with seniors Clayton Lewis and Ian Rankin, juniors Greyson Lifto and Tristan Lambert, who is returning from knee surgery, and sophomore Evan Riley.
"We have about eight guys that could compete at that top (championship) level and Grayson and (junior) John (Weathersby) who won DIII nationals a couple years ago, splitting time between the Division I and DII teams," Bowman said.
He pairs up players based on their throwing strengths and weaknesses for doubles play, matching a better putter with a better driver or mid-range thrower.
"The new guys on the team have been jelling really well and should mostly be in the middle range of pack," Bowman said. "As the younger guys grow and develop into top players, the returning guys are stepping into leadership roles and doing well."
This weekend's tournament is one of at least two that the Flames and Lady Flames will travel to that serve as qualifiers for the College Disc Golf (CDG) National Championships, set for April in Rock Hill, S.C. Liberty, which competes in the Mid-East Region along with schools from Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee, will host another, its annual Flamethrower Invitational on March 16-17 at the Ivy Hill Golf Club and New London Tech Center courses, also site of the PDGA World Championships in August.
The top two teams in each division at this weekend's event will earn automatic bids to nationals whereas three bids will be up for grabs at Liberty's tournament, which will feature one round of singles and one round of doubles both days.
