Friday, February 16
Palm Desert, Calif. (Classic Club G.C.)
All Day
Stephen F. Austin
at
Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate
Men’s Golf Competes in First Tournament of 2018 at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate
2/15/2018 3:31:00 PM | Men's Golf
‘Jacks take on loaded 23-team tournament that features six top-50 programs, including three ranked in the top 25
Throughout the 2017-18 season, SFAJacks.com will feature a men's golfer or coach with a Q&A leading up to each of the Lumberjacks' tournaments. Today, highlighting freshman Steven Fabik.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin men's golf team will return to the links for competition after a three-month winter break from tournament play this weekend at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, California. The Lumberjacks will be competing in their fifth tournament of 2017-18 and first of the calendar year.
The three-day, 54-hole tournament held at the Classic Club will get underway Friday, Feb. 16 and run through Sunday, Feb. 18 with a round played each day. The par-72, 7,322-yard course features four par-3's, 10 par-4's and four par-5's with a 595-yard long No. 9 hole and a 162-yard No. 2 hole. Each round will begin with a double-tee start off of holes No. 1 and 10 at 9 a.m. CST.
For Friday's opening round, SFA will tee off of hole No. 1 starting at 10:40 a.m. CST with players teeing off every 10 minutes. The 'Jacks have been paired with Southern Utah, Loyola Marymount University (Calif.) and UT Arlington for the first round of play.
The Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate will be the most challenging tournament that SFA has played in this season as six programs of the 23-team field are ranked in the top 50 nationally by Golfstat.com. Furthermore, three teams are ranked in the top 25 with second-ranked Oklahoma State having players compete as individuals. The Big 12 Conference's Texas Tech, ranked 14th nationally, joins No. 15 California, No. 21 UCLA, No. 28 Tennessee, No. 35 Kansas and 40th-ranked TCU as the top-50 teams competing in Palm Desert. The 'Jacks are the only team from the Southland Conference at the event.
SFA posted two top-five team finishes in the fall, placing second at Louisiana Tech's Jim Rivers Intercollegiate to open up the 2017-18 season and finishing third at the Little Rock Intercollegiate. Owning a 300.5 round average as a team, the 'Jacks shot a season-best 282 in the second round of the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate and saw players register 15 rounds at or below par.
Freshman Andy Lopez (Dallas, Texas) earned two top-10 finishes, tying four fourth at the Little Rock Intercollegiate and tying for seventh in his first collegiate golf tournament at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate. He shot a career-best 4-under 68 in the first round of the Little Rock Intercollegiate and owns a 75 per round average through the four tournaments this fall. Junior Angelo Leyvani (San Antonio, Texas) averaged a 74.33 per round score during the fall and claimed a top-10 and two top-20 finishes. He shot par or better in four rounds and took home runner-up honors at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate after shooting a career-low 6-under 66 in the second round. It was the second-lowest score of any round in the tournament and tied for the third-lowest round by a golfer in program history.
Senior Blake Stock (Hewitt, Texas) also competed in every tournament during the fall, registering a 78.25 scoring average in 12 rounds. In his lone tournament this season, junior Jake Hendrix (Austin, Texas) competed as an individual and tied for 11th at the Little Rock Intercollegiate with a 2-over 75 in the first round and two rounds of 1-over 73.
Live scoring of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate will be available at Golfstat.com.
Getting to know Steven Fabik
A native of Carrollton, Texas, Fabik was a four-year letter winner and a four-time regional qualifier at Hebron High School before arriving in Nacogdoches. A two-time district champion and Texas 6A state qualifier, Fabik placed third at the Texas Junior Golf Tour's (TJGT) 2016 Lantana Junior Championship. He competed in all four of SFA's tournaments this past fall, tallying a 77.75 scoring average in 12 rounds played. Fabik recorded a personal-best round of 74 on two occasions at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate in Ruston, Louisiana, and at the Duck Commander Intercollegiate in El Dorado, Arkansas. He is the grandson of former NFL linebacker great Chuck Howley, who is a six-time NFL Pro Bowler for the Dallas Cowboys. A Super Bowl VI champion, Howley is the only NFL player to ever receive Super Bowl MVP honors from a losing team and is the only student-athlete in school history to be a letter winner in five different sports at West Virginia.
Why did you choose to come and play at SFA?
"I came to SFA because I love the campus and the people here."
Who is the most influential person in your life, and why?
"The most influential person in my life is my papa, Chuck Howley. He was MVP in Super Bowl V while being on the losing team. He worked very hard and is a very honest man, I strive to be like him in every way possible."
What are your top three to five values in life?
"My top values in life are to always be honest, work hard and treat others the way I'd like to be treated."
What is your best life lesson learned in college and/or golf?
"The best lesson I've learned in playing golf is to not let my emotions take over when I'm not playing well. I've watched a lot of golfers get really upset and mad, to where their whole round is ruined."
What is your dream job that is not practical?
"My dream job that is not practical is to be an astronaut, because it would be cool to be in space."
Who would you play you in a movie/TV series?
"Longmire would play me in a TV series because I'm just like him. Shooting guns and running around solving crime."
What is your biggest fear? Is there a personal story about why?
"My biggest fear is losing in Fortnite. If you're not first, you're last."
What is one thing that no one knows about Steven?
"That I love my dog more than anything in this world."
-SFA-
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