As Dane Bagnell swung his club and stepped off the green for the last time as a Coyote, he realized he would not change a thing about his final season.
The team made it where they needed to be. It was a struggle, but the Coyote's made it to the NCAA National Championship in Houston, TX.
CSUSB placed 18th out of 20 teams in the National Division II Championship. Bagnell was happy with making it to the Championship after the team had a rough start.
"We didn't finish extremely well at nationals but we were all happy to experience it again."
Although Bagnell said he would miss the competition and challenges of golf, he does not plan on pursuing a professional career after college. He does, however, plan on playing in amateur golf tournaments for "as long as he can swing a golf club."
In Bagnell's final day of competitive golf of his collegiate career, he was able to achieve the team's lowest score of the day in the NCAA finals.
He finished in the 70th spot out of 105 golfers. This was his third time competing in Nationals. Although golf is viewed as an individual sport, Bagnell feels the team's camaraderie is what he will remember the most.
"I think the biggest thing I'll take from being a part of this program, are the friendships with all of my teammates. I've had a lot great memories and made many great friendships in my four seasons here that I'll take with me wherever I go in life."
Head Coach Tom Mainez Jr. has led the Coyote's golf team since the 2005-2006 season. Mainez has achieved a third time national championship appearance. His team has ranked in the top-20 Division II schools nationally for three consecutive years.
In golfing, players can be their own worst enemy. Bagnell, as well as the rest of the team, credit Mainez's low pressure coaching to their success.
"Coach Mainez has always taken a laid back attitude to coaching our team and that has had a great effect on all of us and really taken a lot of the pressure out of golf."
The Coyote's traveled with five players in 12 tournaments in the 2007-2008 season. Bagnell said individually he had a slow start on the season. However, he pulled it together when it mattered most.
"I felt like I played pretty well down the stretch and contributed to our making it to nationals. Making it to the national championship again after we got off to such a bad start as a team was an awesome way to finish my college career."
Bagnell knows that his teammates will remain friends on and off the golf course. "When you spend that much time with teammates you become very close and get to know each other very well. I think that everyone on this team will remain close."
Bagnell plans to pursue a career in advertising after college. He acknowledges the life long lessons golf has taught him. These attributes are: work hard, live life with integrity and to never get down on yourself.
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