Ole Miss Daily: Men's golf finds more success in the transfer portal

Ole Miss men’s golf continues to add to its 2023-24 roster with the addition of sophomore transfer Michael La Sasso from NC State, head coach Chris Malloy announced Wednesday.  
 
La Sasso, a one-year letter-winner at NC State, will join Rebel Nation after a successful rookie season with nine tournaments and 26 rounds completed for the Wolfpack, recording a 72.19 stroke average.
 
“We are extremely excited to welcome Michael to the family,” said Malloy. “There is no doubt in my mind that he will come in and immediately make an impact on our program. He had a very good freshman year; however, I am confident that he has only scratched the surface of his true potential.”
 
During his freshman campaign in Raleigh, La Sasso put in 10 par or better rounds in his nine tournament appearances, seven of those rounds being in the 60s. La Sasso earned two top-20 finishes, including one in the top-5 to help guide the Wolfpack to 10 top-10 finishes as a team in the 2022-23 season. The freshman was NC State’s top performer in three tournaments this past season.
 
La Sasso’s put in a solid freshman year which was highlighted by a 65 (-7) first-round performance at the Watersound Invitational, marking the lowest round of the season by an NC State golfer. At the General Hackler Championship, the Raleigh, North Carolina native shot all three rounds in the 60s including a first round of 67 to earn a season-low overall score of 204 (-12) and a season-best finish of 3rd place. During the ACC Championship, La Sasso guided the Wolfpack with a team-best tied-for-19th performance. With the help of the freshman, NC State punched its ticket to the NCAA Morgan Hill Regional for its 14th straight regional appearance where La Sasso finished in the top-25.
 
Before his time with the Wolfpack, La Sasso was the No. 2 ranked junior in North Carolina’s 2022 class and he ranked No. 38 overall by American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) in Class of 2022. La Sasso finished in a tie for 19th place at the AJGA’s Junior Players Championship held at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in September of 2021. He took home second-place honors at the Carolinas Golf Association Dogwood State Junior Boys Tournament in August of 2021. La Sasso went on to finish fifth in the AJGA’s Junior Championship and finish third at the AJGA Junior at 12 Oaks in April of 2021.
 
La Sasso attended Saint David’s School in Raleigh and earned medalist honors at the 2021 North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association State Championship to lead St. David’s to the 3A state title. He was named to the 3A NCISAA All-State team and also earned medalist honors in 2019 to lead St. David’s to 3A State title that season and was named to the 2019 3A NCISAA All-State team. La Sasso is set to begin playing with the Rebels beginning in the fall of 2023 as a sophomore.

Related: Ole Miss football announces kickoff times for first three games of 2023 season

Ole Miss men’s tennis’ Engelhardt named third-team CSC All-American

Ole Miss men’s tennis senior Lukas Engelhardt has been named a College Sports Communicators Third-Team Academic All-American for the 2022-23 season, the CSC announced on Wednesday.

Engelhardt – a senior native of Augsburg, Germany – is the first Rebel men’s tennis player to earn the honor since 2014 when Johan Backstrom also was named third-team. Engelhardt has excelled both on the court and in the classroom, totaling 51 singles wins and 46 doubles victories in his Ole Miss career. In the 2022-23 season, Engelhardt won 35 total matches, including a 15-7 mark on the 44th-ranked doubles team with partner Nikola Slavic.

In the classroom, Engelhardt holds a perfect 4.0 GPA through eight semesters with the Rebels. He walked across the stage this May with a degree in international business management from the School of Business Administration. Engelhardt has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll each year of his Ole Miss career, as well as making the Chancellor’s Honor Roll each semester as an undergraduate student.

This spring, Engelhardt was also recognized as a Taylor Medalist, the highest academic honor conferred by the University of Mississippi. The honor is given out annually to less than one percent of the student body, and is awarded to students who are nominated for outstanding scholarship in their particular field combined with superior work in all other subjects. To be eligible, a student must have a GPA of 3.90 or higher and completed at least 105 hours of overall course credit.

Engelhardt will return for his final year of eligibility with the Rebels in 2023-24.

Women’s track & field ranked No. 23 heading into NCAA Championships

Ole Miss women’s track & field finishes the outdoor season ranked No. 23 in the final USTFCCCA Rating Index for 2023 released on Monday afternoon.

This marks the 48th all-time appearance in the outdoor rating index, as well as the 39th appearance for the Ole Miss women since 2016 under the supervision of eighth-year head coach Connie Price-Smith. The Week 10 version of the USTFCCCA Index only considers qualifiers for the national meet.

Ole Miss is set to send 11 student-athletes with 11 total entries to the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships, held this year at the University of Texas from June 7-10.

No. 23 Ole Miss Women • USTFCCCA Week 10 Rating Index • 89.77 Points

2. McKenzie Long – 100-Meter Dash – 10.80 (+3.5) – 30.97 Points

4. McKenzie Long – 200-Meter Dash – 22.13 (+2.9) – 28.66 Points

9. Shey Taiwo – Hammer – 67.69m/222-01 – 15.31 Points

13. 4×100-Meter Relay (Long, Matthews, Eckford, Augustine) – 43.43 – 9.02 Points

19. Kristel van den Berg – 3000-Meter Steeplechase – 9:56.56 – 3.98 Points

23. Jasmine Mitchell – Shot Put – 16.97m/55-08.25 – 1.82 Points

No. 41 Ole Miss Men • USTFCCCA Week 10 Rating Index • 51.29 Points

9. Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan – Hammer – 71.25m/233-09 – 15.24 Points

11. Tiarnan Crorken – 800-Meter – 1:46.82 – 11.34 Points

11. Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan – Shot Put – 20.07m/65-10.25 – 11.13 Points

14. Baylor Franklin – 800-Meter – 1:47.21 – 8.12 Points

17. Ahmad Young Jr. – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.54 (+0.6) – 5.45 Points