DePaul University

CHICAGO- The Blue Demons return for second half the 2008-09 campaign after finishing the Fall portion in the upper tier. The DePaul golf team demonstrated success as a player finished in the top 10 in three of the five competitions. Three players placed among the top 25 in the season opener as Cory Blenkush, Greg Doherty and Nick Martin guided DePaul to a sixth-place finish at the John Dallio Memorial. The Blue Demons followed that tournament with an eighth-place finish at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Ky.

Guided by head coach Betty Kaufmann, one of LPGA’s 50 Best Teachers, the golf program has attributed much of its success to the 11-year coach and first-year volunteer assistant Tim Hamm. Hamm, a two-time Division III All-American joins Kauffman, who has received numerous accolades from Golf for Women Magazine, Golf Magazine and many others.

The Squad Returns: Cory Blenkush, the team’s 2008 Most Outstanding Player, carded an 18-hole, personal-best 69 for the sixth time in his career as he shot a 69 at the Roadrunner Intercollegiate and at the Cardinal Classic this past Fall. Named a 2008 Division I Cleveland Golf All-American, the senior finished in the top 25 at both the John Dallio Memorial and the Cardinal Classic.

Greg Doherty led the Blue Demons with a 73.75 scoring average in the fall having played in 12 rounds and carrying 885 total strokes. The junior, who played in the 2008 Western Amateur, tied for sixth at the Georgetown Intercollegiate. Along with his tie for eighth at the John Dallio Memorial, Doherty’s top two finishes were the teams best finishes during the 2008 fall schedule.

Nick Martin competed at the 2008 Illinois Open and ended the Fall slate with several personal bests. His 54-hole total of 210 at the Cardinal Classic entered the Blue Demon record books as his score tied for second-best all-time. He also carded a personal-best 18-hole round of 68 in Louisville while placing ninth. The senior opened the fall schedule with top 20 finishes in each of the first three tournaments.

DePaul has showed significant improvements as each of the five remaining players to see action in the fall achieved personal bests: Charles Boucher, Michael Furci, Erik Peterson, Paul Watt and Ben Westley.

2009 Schedule: The Spring season opens when the Blue Demons take swing at the UTSA Oak Hills Classic on Monday, Feb. 16. The Oak Hills Country Club plays as host until the following day when the tournament wraps up in San Antonio, Texas on Feb. 17. Play commences with 36 holes on Monday and is followed by an 18-hole round the next morning. The 14-team field will consist of Air Force, Central Arkansas, DePaul, Illinois State, Louisiana-Monroe, McNeese State, Oklahoma, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas Tech, Texas State, UT Arlington, UTSA and Wichita State.

DePaul tees off in two tournaments in the month of March as the golf program competes in the Ron Smith USF Invitational, Mar. 6-8. The Blue Demons placed fifth in that tournament last season which held 18 teams. The team then travels to Arroyo Grande, Calif. for the Cal Poly Invitational, Mar. 26-27. DePaul makes a trip back east with the Marshall Invitational on April 3-4 in Huntington, W. Va. and the adidas Hoosier Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., April 11-12.

The BIG EAST Championship will take its course in Dade City, Fla. on Sunday, April 19. The Lake Jovita Golf Course will serve as host until the Championship concludes on Tuesday, April 21. DePaul closed the 2007-08 season with a seventh-place finish in last year’s BIG EAST Conference Championship. Junior Greg Doherty (t14th) and senior Cory Blenkush (t18th) finished in the top 25 for the Blue Demons.

Toledo, Ohio hosts the NCAA Championship Finals, May 27-30 upon conclusion of the NCAA Championship Regionals which begin on Thursday, May 14 and end on Saturday, May 16.