| Bowen Sargent |
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A former collegiate All-American, All-ACC selection, professional player and national assistant coach of the year, Bowen Sargent has a wealth of experiences involving golf. Now in his third season as the head coach at Virginia, Sargent is using his vast background to transform the Cavalier program into a competitor on the national level.
When Sargent was named UVa's head coach Aug. 31, 2004, he became the eighth person to direct the program in the last 30 years. During his first two seasons he has guided the Cavaliers to a NCAA Regional Championship once, seen the team gain a top-20 ranking and recruited several All-American junior golfers to build the future of the program. His goal is to consistently accomplish all of those things on an annual basis.
In Sargent's first year at UVa, the Cavaliers qualified for the NCAA East Regional and placed 12th, just three shots from advancing to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2002. It marked the 19th time in the history of Virginia's program the Cavaliers advanced to postseason play.
That first season under Sargent the Cavaliers recorded nine top-10 finishes and placed fifth at the ACC Championship. Kevin O'Connell and Brad Tilley earned All-ACC recognition, while William Byrd, Craig Cook-Stevenson, and Lee Yang earned Academic All-ACC honors.
Last season the Cavaliers experienced some growing pains, failing to make a return trip to the NCAAs. Virginia picked up its first win under Sargent when the Cavaliers won the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate. Senior Brad Tilley ended the year on a high note by taking medalist honors at the Cavalier Classic thanks to a dramatic six-hole playoff victory. First-year Conrad von Borsig earned ACC All-Academic honors. Tilley was named a first-team selection to the Virginia State Golf Coaches all-state team while Daniel Kefale was a second-team pick.
Sargent took over the Cavalier program after working as an assistant coach at Tennessee for three seasons. He was intimately involved with the daily operations and recruiting efforts of the Volunteer program, In 2004, his last season at UT, Sargent became the second recipient of the Jan Strickland National Assistant Coach of the Year Award. Presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America, the award is given annually to the assistant coach who, among other things, has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom. That season he helped the Volunteers to three tournament wins and a No. 12 final national ranking.
Prior to coaching at Tennessee, Sargent was a professional golfer for nine years from 1992 to 2000. He is credited with eight professional victories. He has since regained his amateur status and annually competes in several area events. He qualified for the Virginia State Open last summer.
Sargent's first coaching opportunity came at Vanderbilt when he worked as a volunteer assistant for the 1993-94 season.
A 1992 graduate of NC State where he earned a bachelor's degree in communications, Sargent twice earned honorable mention All-America honors. He received the honor in 1988 after his freshman season and in 1991 when he was a junior. He received All-ACC honors in both 1990 and 1991.
The Wolfpack team captain in 1991, Sargent helped NC State to at 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships that season. The team also placed 14th during his junior campaign. He played at the NCAAs during all four of his seasons with the Wolfpack. The team was 18th in 1988 and 23rd in 1989. During his junior campaign NC State won its first ACC title.
An outstanding student, he was the recipient of NC State's Tom Coffey Award for academic excellence during his senior season.
Next August Sargent will lead a University sponsored trip to Scotland as part of the Cavalier Travels program. The excursion will include rounds of golf on the Turnberry Kntyre, Turnberry Alisa, Carnoustie, and both New and Old courses at St. Andrews plus a trip to the Colin Montgomery Academy.
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