AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Coming off a strong fall season, the Augusta State men’s golf team heads to Orlando, Fla., this weekend to kick off its spring schedule when the Jaguars tee off in the Rio Pinar Invitational at Rio Pinar Country Club.

The Jaguars, who finished runnerup in two of their four fall events, open their 2009 slate on Monday, Feb. 23 in the two-day, 54-hole event. Sophomore Henrik Norlander paced the team with a 70.75 stroke average during the four fall events. Three Jags, including senior Janne Kaske and junior Jake Amos, posted sub-73 scoring averages during the fall season.

“We’re coming off a good fall season and I’m really excited to get going again,” said ASU head coach Josh Gregory. “The guys are tired of qualifying, are ready to compete and are ready to see where our games are. We have a great schedule -- one that should prepare us for the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships. We’re an extremely young team that will get better as the spring progresses. Once we find the right mix in our lineup, I look for a very strong spring. Our first and foremost goal is to get a win, and with a young team, that is crucial. Once we believe we can win, I expect great things out of our team.”

Central Florida will serve as the tourney host to the 20-team field, which includes ASU, Baylor, Connecticut, East Carolina, Iowa State, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis, Mercer, UNC Greensboro, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Southern Miss, South Florida, Texas-Arlington, Vanderbilt, Virginia Commonwealth and Wichita State.

UCF captured the 2008 Rio Pinar event while the Knights’ Greg Forest and Mike Stern shared medalist honors to make it a clean sweep for the hosts.

Play gets underway at 7:45 a.m. Monday morning at the par-72, 6,978-yard Rio Pinar layout. The final round is slated for an 8:30 a.m. start Tuesday.