Tide Golf Coach Signs Exceptional First Recruiting Class
11/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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TUSCALOOSA – Jay Seawell has been on board barely three months as the University of Alabama head men’s golf coach, but his first recruiting class is already being billed as a hard act to follow.
Three golfers have signed National Letters of Intent to attend school and play golf at the University of Alabama which is ranked No. 25 in the latest Golf Week Collegiate rankings. Among them are a top national recruit, the American Junior Golf low round record holder and an international golfer who is his country’s amateur champion and national team member.
“I am excited about the class we’ve signed because they all have the same goal that we do here in our golf program, and that’s to win and bring championships to the University of Alabama,” said Seawell. “They’re all good students and they are all talented golfers who are coming here to play golf and win championships as well as earn their degree.”
Two are from the state of Alabama and include Daphne’s Joseph Sykora and Athens’ Stewart Whitt. Sykora is a senior at Mobile’s UMS-Wright. Sykora won the 2002 Future Masters championship. He ranks in the top 25 nationally among junior golfers and is a 3rd team national junior All-American.
“Joseph is one of the best players in the nation,” says Seawell. “We’re excited to have him on board. He’ll be an immediate impact player. He could have gone anywhere in the country, and we’re very excited he chose Alabama. He’ll be an outstanding student who will be part of the Honors College at Alabama, and he has already qualified as a Capstone Scholar.”
Whitt, a senior at Athens High, holds the American junior scoring record. Whitt shot 62, the lowest round in the history of American junior golf tournament play, in the final round of the Henry Griffitts Rome Jr. Classic. His round included 10 birdies and eight pars on the par-72 course. He finished second in that event and was featured in “Faces in the Crowd” for his feat in Sports Illustrated’s October 21, 2002 issue. Whitt finished among the top five in the Alabama state junior amateur.
“Stewart has proven he knows how to shoot low numbers,” said Seawell. “He brings an immense amount of talent that will help us achieve our goals. He’s a birdie machine. If he focuses solely on golf, he has a chance to become a future star.”
Rounding out the group of November signees is Max Alverio of Humacao, Puerto Rico. Alverio is the Puerto Rican amateur champion as well as the Caribbean amateur champion. He played on the Puerto Rico National team in the recent World Amateur in Malaysia.
“Max has world amateur experience, so he should be able to come straight in and play college golf with that experience level,” said Seawell. “They all seem to have a common goal to help Alabama win championships. I’m excited about my first recruiting class because I believe this group will lay such a solid foundation for Alabama golf.”
