By TIM RATH

Sports Editor

Frank McAuliffe has been carrying the men’s golf team for too long.

That’s the belief of men’s head golf coach Brian Costello, who believes that he has finally found some help his star junior.

“Frank carried us all last year, and he’s excited for the new guys that we have that can help us actually compete for a championship,” Costello said. “Frank is a great leader and a huge part of our rebuilding process.”

Costello, who is about to enter his second year as men’s head golf coach after a successful stint in the same position at Belmont University, said that he was proud of a pair of freshman recruits that should compete for playing time immediately.

Michael Coriasso of Grand Blanc was the winner of the Genesee County Amateur Championship in July. Dillon Kleine of Delphos, Ohio and seven other returning players from last year’s team will join him on the 2008 team.

“[Coriasso and Kleine] have proven track records, they’re long off the tee, they’re good putters, they’re hard workers, and they know that coming [to OU] is an uphill battle,” Costello said. “They’ll challenge the guys coming back from last year’s team for playing time right off the bat.”

While the team will feature no seniors in 2008, Costello believes that between his three stars, the team should be strong enough to have a successful year.

“This year is about improving and finding some good kids to come in next year,” he said. “We can realistically finish in the top three of our conference this year and next year, we should definitely be able to compete for a conference championship.”

Costello pointed to the Wolverine Intercollegiate Open at the University of Michigan on Sept. 20 and the D.S. Weibring Invitational at Illinois State on Oct. 12 as the events that he is most looking forward to.

“We’re playing a much-upgraded tournament schedule this time around, one bigger than any that this school has seen before,” he said. “[The Wolverine Intercollegiate Open and the D.S. Weibring Invitational] are the types of events that we need to get into if the program is going to go further.”

Costello said that these events would be a good indicator as to the success of the 2008 season.

“If we finish in the middle of the pack, we can start to turn some heads,” he said. “There will be a lot of highly-ranked schools, Big Ten teams, and it’s always fun to have that regional rivalry going on.”

Costello said that he was also looking forward to the Summit League Tournament in the spring, to show off how much the team has improved to inter-conference foes.

“All it takes (at the Summit League Tournament) is three hot rounds and you’re right there, playing for the NCAA Championship,” he said. “That’s exciting for everyone.”

Costello said that if the team is able to do well in the season and if he is able to do well on the recruiting trail, the sky will be the limit for the golf program on a whole.

“It’s up to me in the next couple of years to go out and find some good kids to play with the good kids that we already have,” he said. “With the kind of school that OU is, our ceiling is endless here.”

The men’s golf season tees off at the John Piper Intercollegiate in Bowling Green, Ohio on Sept. 8.