The Virginia Tech men's golf team struggled immensely during the 2015-2016 season as the Hokies failed to qualify as a team for a NCAA Tournament qualifier event with Joey Lane being the representative at the NCAA qualifier. However, the Hokies' men's golf program entered the 2016-2017 season with some new players along with a couple of veterans that are pushing the Hokies back to the level they were at a couple years ago.
Virginia Tech started the season strong with a second place team finish at their first tournament of the season, the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational, with three golfers finishing in the top 10 of the individual classification led by freshman Sarit Suwannarut finishing tied for third, Auburn transfer Mark Lawrence Jr. finishing tied for fifth, and sophomore Logan Yates finishing tied for seventh.
Virginia Tech built on that momentum and at their second event of the year, the Hokies put together another great performance with an even better finish. Virginia Tech won the Janney Invitational in Richmond which was shortened one round due to weather issues.
However, the Hokies swept both titles with senior Joey Lane winning his first career tournament in a playoff victory over JMU's Ryan Cole. Freshman Sarit Suwannarut finished third for the second-straight tournament while Logan Yates finished tied for seventh.
Lane has continuously improved over his collegiate career and after a disappointing tied for 36th in the Hokies' opening tournament, Lane had the best tournament of his career on the way to getting his first individual title. Lane likely will continue to be a threat throughout the season as one of the leaders on this team.
Meanwhile, Sarit Suwannarut has been a very pleasant surprise and seems poised to be the next great golfer for Virginia Tech. Suwannarut's back-to-back top 5 finishes is cquite impressive for a freshman and it wouldn't be surprising if he individually won a tournament this season. Logan Yates and Mark Lawrence Jr. have also been looking quite solid so far and give the Hokies some more depth along with a couple of other golfers who could challenge for an individual victory.
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