Improvement is what every coach and player are looking for. Here's a glance at some individuals who really raised their games this fall.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
MEN
Clayton Rask, Minnesota
The Otsego, Minn., native was the No. 3 man for the Golden Gophers last season and broke par in only four of his 35 rounds while posting a 74.94 average. It took 23-year-old senior all of 10 rounds this fall, however, to match that total as he claimed a share of the individual title at Windon Memorial Classic and The Prestige and claimed the top-spot in the Minnesota lineup from All-American Victor Almstrom. In two other tournaments Rask also recorded top-six finishes, with his worst performance in five starts being a mere T-16. A fall stroke average of 71.33 is 3.3 strokes lower than it was at this time a year ago.

Honorable mention: Tim Schaetzel, Michigan
The Wolverines' senior co-captain had a career 75.75 stroke average entering the fall before posting two wins and a 72.75 mark in six events.

WOMEN
Laura Kueny, Michigan State
Having sat out last spring because of academic issues, the sophomore from Whitehall, Mich., proved how much she missed playing for the Spartans with her performances this fall: one win (at the Mary Fossum Invitational, where she broke the 54-hole tournament record), two runner-up finishes and a T-20 in four starts, posting a 72.33 average.

"I think I can use the word torture for her, especially having Big Tens [at Michigan State's home course]," said MSU coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll when asked how hard it was for Kueny to practice and workout with the team but not compete last spring. When MSU was winning the conference championship in April, Kueny, who claimed the prestigious Trans-National Women's Amateur title this summer, was relegated to working on the scoreboards rather than contributing on the course. "I know how hard that was on her, but there was a great learning lesson in her experiences last spring.”

Key to Kueny's fall flourish, according to Slobodnik-Stoll, has been improvement in her chipping and pitching, something player and coach have focused on since the former arrived on campus. "She's got an awesome swing," Slobodnik-Stoll says. "[And now] instead of us being nervous she's not going to hit the green from 50 yards, she's mad if she's not within 10 feet."

Honorable mention: Dewi Claire Schreefel, Southern California
The senior from the Netherlands had just one finish top-six finish since winning the NCAA individual title in 2006, making her victory at the Margaret Branch NCAA Fall Preview a welcome sign for Trojans fans.

NEXT MID-SEASON AWARD (Monday, Dec. 3):
The Best Player You've (Maybe) Never Heard Of and The Best Player You'll Hear About By Season's End

From performances that were fab, we now explore those that were ... well ... drab. Some college golfers and teams surprised this fall because of how much they exceeded expectations. Others, however, turned heads because of how far short them came from meeting them.

Quick disclaimer, Part I: If your name or the name of your school appears below, it means that you were thought of as a very talented golfer/team entering the fall.
Quick disclaimer, Part II: If your name or the name of your school appears below, it means you’re STILL thought of as a very talented golfer/team ⿿ just one that didn’t play to your potential.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: PLAYER
MEN
Jon Curran, Vanderbilt
A year ago, the Hopkinton, Mass., native had eight top-10 finishes in 12 tournaments, a season where he finished with a flourish: a T-7 showing at the Courtyard by Marriott Intercollegiate, followed by a T-9 at the SEC Championship, a T-2 at the West Regional and an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championship. Curran continued to shine during the summer, posting top-fives at the Monroe Invitational and the Porter Cup before advancing to the second round of the U.S. Amateur. So how do you explain that in his first four starts this past fall, the junior had a 73.4 average and just one top-20 performance before finishing T-4 at two-round WCU Intercollegiate—a last minute addition to Vandy's schedule with a field that included no other major conference participants?

The easy answer is that replacing All-American Luke List as the Commodores' No. 1 player is a tough burden to carry. The real explanation, however, is that Curran is struggling mightily with his putter. While having a better percentage of fairways hit (79.4 percent) and greens in regulation (69.1 percent) than he did in 2006-07, he is averaging 31.56 putts a round and is averaging 1.893 putts on greens he's hitting in regulation.

Honorable mention: Joseph Bramlett, Stanford
After posting seven top-10s and a 71.5 stroke average in 2006-07, the second-team All-American's best showing in five starts this year is a T-11, while his stroke average is 73.1. Can you say sophomore slump?

WOMEN
Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt
En route to a first-team All-American showing a year ago (six top-fives and 10 top-10s), the junior from Orlando had a 71.9 stroke average during the fall, making the 74.33 number she has posted thus far during the 2007-08 season seem even more astonishing. A T-42 on Vanderbilt's home course at the Mason Rudolph Women's Championship was a head scratcher that didn't look a whole lot better after she finished T-21 at the NCAA Fall Preview. A third-place showing at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational suggested that maybe Concolino was returning to her old form, but a T-47 performance at the Stanford Intercollegiate wasn't the way she wanted to head into the winter break.

Perhaps you can chalk it all up to adjusting to new coach Greg Allen, although when you look at Concolino's stats, they suggest otherwise. Like Curran, Concolino's disappointing play can be attributed to poor putting. She ranks fifth on the Vanderbilt squad in putting with a 32.5 average while averaging 1.5 three-putt holes per round. Last year she had 110 birdies, fourth most in the country. Thus far she has only 27.

Honorable mention: Paola Moreno, Southern California
Tied for runner-up at the NCAA Championship last May, but the Colombia native hasn't broken par in any of nine rounds during her senior season.


BIGGEST SURPRISE: TEAM
MEN
Stanford
Following up a storybook seven-win season that culminated in an NCAA title is a lot to ask of any team. It's just that the Cardinal appeared to have the talent equal to the task with returning All-Americans Rob Grube, Joseph Bramlett and Daniel Lim and incoming blue-chip recruit Sihwan Kim. Raise your hand, then, if you thought Conrad Ray's squad would have been winless this fall? Yeah, didn't think we'd see any.

Interestingly enough, while Kim has made a smooth transition to the college game (one win, four top-15 finishes) and sophomore Jordan Cox has showed glimpses of solid play (T-4 at CordeValle and T-8 at the Prestige) it's the veterans who have struggled. Bramlett had only four finishes outside the top 20 in 13 events as a freshman, but this year has three in five starts. Grube started well but a T-48 at the Isleworth-UCF Invitational was disappointing from a senior captain.

Suffice it to say, the Cardinal's dream of becoming the first repeat men's national champion since Houston in 1984-85 isn't lost. Working in their favor for an improved showing in the spring is the fact that many of the distractions of the fall will be behind them, most notably the loss of assistant coach Sam Puryear (hired to take over the top job at Michigan State) just days before the start of the season.

Honorable mention: Texas A&M
Fellow coaches looked the other way at the fact the Aggies failed to qualify for the 2007 NCAA Championship when they ranked them No. 11 in the Golf World/Nike Golf preseason poll. But with a dead-last showing at Isleworth and no finish better than a fourth in five fall starts—plus a 27-39 record overall—J.T. Higgins' group needs to step things up.

WOMEN
Stanford
Ranked ninth in the Golf World/NGCA preseason poll, the Cardinal posted only two top-10 finishes in four fall tournaments, including a disappointing ninth-place showing at their home event, the Stanford Intercollegiate. Troubling for Caroline O'Connor's team is the fact that only twice did any player post a top-10 finish (Mari Chun's T-8 performances at the Edean Ihlanfeldt and Stanford). Versus top-25 teams, Stanford has a 4-37 record (.098), leaving in question whether the team will continue its string of 20-straight NCAA Championship appearances.

Honorable mention: North Carolina
Started T-6 at the Cougar Classic and have finished no better in three other fall events, including an 11th-place showing at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational.

NEXT MID-SEASON AWARD:
Most Improved Player

The first half of the 2007-08 campaign has come and gone. With roughly eight weeks to catch their breathe before beginning the spring march to the NCAA Championship, players and programs must assess where they stand overall and consider how to repeat any success from the fall or recover from a disappointing start to the season.

And just who, exactly, will be doing the repeating and who is looking at recovering? Gaze no further than Golf World's third annual Mid-Season Award package, a compendium that serves as both a review of the season to date and a primer for what's to come when players tee it up again in late January. Each day we'll reveal another award winner in men's and women's college golf, culminating with the Mid-Season Player of the Year honorees and All-American teams.

Today we begin with the Biggest Surprises (in a good way) from the fall.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: PLAYER
MEN
Stefan Wiedergruen, Charlotte
Maybe the fact that the junior from Waiblingen, Germany had a 72.5 stroke average a year ago (yet wasn’t able to crack the 49ers line-up at the East Regional or NCAA Championship) should have hinted at his latent potential. Still, to have seen this coming—a 69.83 stroke average, two wins (including a victory at the Golfweek/Ping Preview) and a runner-up finish in four stroke-play starts this fall—would have taken more than a magic eight-ball.

According to Wiedergruen, some summer work on his short game helped him shore up a weakness that kept him from starting last postseason. "He could have and, who knows, maybe even should have been in the lineup at the end of the year," noted Charlotte coach Jamie Green earlier this fall. "He was certainly motivated [by missing out on playing at nationals]."

Honorable mention: Chesson Hadley, Georgia Tech
Proved solid finish to 2007 season (T-9 at ACC, seventh at East Regionals, T-4 at NCAAs) was no fluke with a win and two other top-six finishes this fall, while posting a 69.78 average.

WOMEN
So-Hyun Park , Notre Dame
While the South Korean native who attended the David Leadbetter Academy in Florida figured to make the Fighting Irish's starting five even as a freshman, her impact went beyond what most people expected. In five starts, the 19-year-old has finished no worse than T-7, winning the Napa River Grill Cardinal Cup and finishing second at the Cougar Classic and Ann Rhodes Intercollegiate.

Park has been dubbed "Nintendo" because "when you watch her play she's pretty much on auto-pilot," according to ND coach Susan Holt.

"To be honest, I just stay out of her way," Holt noted. "First tee it's like 'Have  great day.' I see her on the par 3s  and I drive around and ask her if she needs anything to eat or drink. And there have been a couple of times when she's motioned me over to ask my thoughts on a shot, but otherwise I let her be."

So far, so good.

Honorable mention: Laura Kueny, Michigan State
Missed last spring because of academics, but the sophomore has bounced back with a win and two other runner-up finishes in four fall starts.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: TEAM
MEN
Charlotte
More than a few people viewed the 49ers' No. 10 ranking in the Golf World/Nike Golf preseason poll as one last tip of the cap to a team finishing a school-best third at the NCAA Championship in 2007. As for the 49ers themselves, however, they considered it a bit insulting, considering that six of the seven returning players had stroke averages of 73.6 of lower a year ago. So it was that Charlotte went from last season's Cinderella story to this year's national power after winning its first three tournaments, including the Ping/Golfweek Preview at Purdue's Kampen Course, site of next spring's NCAA Championship, to claim its first No. 1 ranking in school history.

With another "mid-major" program cementing a place in the top-25, Jamie Green's squad has caused some to wonder if we're beyond thinking of small schools that have big results as actual "surprises." "It would be silly to compare us to the Georgias and Oklahoma States and UCLAs in terms of the history of the program," Green said earlier this fall. "That's just obvious. But where I think we are and where we can continue to be, is that I would take our five guys, whatever five guys we go to a tournament with, compete on any golf course and see how we stack up against any team. In this place and time right now, in that way, then we are beyond that."

As if anyone needed more proof, Charlotte closed the fall with a fourth tournament title at Pacific Invitational, the 14th victory for the 49ers since the fall 2004.

Honorable mention: Penn State
Two wins and five top-five finishes give Nittany Lions fans reason to roar.

WOMEN
Notre Dame
Outsiders who shrugged off the Fighting Irish to start the season because of the team's youth—the seven-player roster has just one junior and one senior—may well have mistook age for immaturity. Not so, says second-year coach Susan Holt, who was impressed with just how responsible a group she had in South Bend even before they won their first three tournaments of the fall and claimed a spot in the Golf World/NGCA's top 25.

"I had a team meeting this year at the beginning of the year," Holt says, "and instead of me telling them what the goals were and what I expected of them, I asked them what they expected of themselves. I wanted them to tell me what their goals were. And I took it one step further and asked them what kind of behaviors were they going to have to have on a daily basis to achieve the goals. And I think that was the key to it all. It really held them accountable on a daily basis as to what they knew they were going to have to do. They bought into it and stuck to it."

While junior Lisa Mauna (medalist at the Cougar Classic) and sophomores Annie Brophy and Kristin Wetzel have shined, the addition of first-year players So-Hyun Park and Katie Conway have provided a lift. Says Holt: "I really think this freshman class put us on the fast track to really get us there maybe a little sooner than we anticipated. And the upperclassmen embraced that."

Honorable mention: California
Unranked in the preseason, now a solid top-15 team with a win and four top-fives.

NEXT MID-SEASON AWARD:
Biggest Surprises (in the wrong direction)

The GCAA just released the names of the class of 2007 for its Hall of Fame. It's another impressive trio of men's college coaches that will be inducted January 14 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla.: Tom Drennan, Jay Hardwick and Jack Jensen.

Drennan has been the coach at Rhode Island for 20 years, with his teams dominating play in the Northeast. For 16 straight years the Rams have made appearances in the NCAA regionals with his teams having won five Atlantic 10 conference titles.

Hardwick is similarly synonymous with Virginia Tech, having gone to school there before coaching the Hokies the past 25 years. He's the only coach in history to win the championship in four different conferences with the same school (three Big East titles, two Atlantic 10, two Metro and a share of last year's ACC title).

Jensen is now coaching his 32nd season at Division III Guilford, where he has guided 26 Quaker teams to national tournaments, including the 2002 and 2005 NCAA national titles and the 1989 NAIA championship. Three times Jensen has been honored as national coach of the year. Aside from golf, he also coached Guilford's basketball team to an NAIA national title.

It's official ⿿ Peter Uihlein (right), the 2007 AJGA boys player of the year, and Morgan Hoffman, the No. 2-ranked player in the latest Polo Golf junior ranking, have sent in their national letters of intent to play for the Oklahoma State men's golf team next fall, kicking off the first day of the early signing period for high school seniors. The Cowboys also signed Sean Einhaus of Germany, rounding out what's likely to be the top recruiting class in the country.

Come back for more updates later, or click here to link to the AJGA's website that's tracking the various signings.

The Golf Coaches Association of America's annual convention outside Orlando will have a little more star power in January, thanks to the anticipated attendance of Arnold Palmer. The two-time NCAA medalist when he played at Wake Forest will be the recipient of the GCAA Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, he will become the third non-coach inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame (Karsten Solheim and Byron Nelson being the two others) during the Jan. 14 banquet at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

"I consider it a particular honor inasmuch as my golf at Wake Forest played a major role in leading me into my career in professional golf," Palmer said in a press release.

Palmer has stayed connected to college golf by lending his name to the Palmer Cup, an annual Ryder Cup-style event pitting collegians from the U.S. against their counterparts from Europe. Additionally, the medalist at the NCAA Championship receives the Arnold Palmer Award.

The announcement of the other Hall of Fame inductees is expected in the next week.

The headline out of Lakeland, Fla., and the final round of the Duramed Futures Tour's Qualifying School is that 17-year-old Vicky Hurst, the American Junior Golf Association's player of the year, claimed medalist honors with a final-round 71 at Cleveland Heights GC and a five-under 283 overall. The high school senior already was undecided as to whether to attend college next fall or turn pro and play on various tours in 2008; she has said that she won't sign a national letter of intent come Wednesday's national signing day as she continues to weigh her options.

Suffice it to say, securing her Futures Tour card, thus assuring herself a place to play next year, makes the turning-pro route much more attractive. You didn't have to work hard to read between the lines of her post-round comments, where she admitted she was "leaning toward turning pro," to get the impression this will be the likely decision Hurst makes.

"It's like starting my career," said the Melbourne, Fla., native, who topped a field of 312 players. "Playing this qualifier and winning it kind of starts everything with a bang. I won it without playing amazing golf and I know I can improve so much. Now I also know where I stand."

Hardly sounds like somebody ready to crack the books again after high school graduation, huh?

It's the same sentiment Hurst has hinted at all summer. On three different occasions I asked her where she stood regarding school/pro golf and while never flat out saying "forget college, I'm going to get me some spending money," that was always the impression you got as to where she was leaning.

Hurst's victory was particularly impressive considering she trailed Michigan State senior Sara Brown by one stroke with a hole to play. Hurst hit a 104-yard approach shot on the par-4 to four feet while Brown, playing in the same group, missed the green and couldn't get her greenside chip closer than 40 feet. Brown bogeyed, Hurst birdied and claimed the title.

The win also helped get rid of the bad taste Hurst still had from losing the Florida high school state championship last week. Surely, she had to wonder if she couldn't win that tournament whether she was really ready to play as a pro. That question seems to be answered.

CHIP SHOTS: Despite her final-hole mishap, Brown, a 21-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., also secured a Futures Tour card for 2008. She said that she will play out her senior season with the Spartans, then turn pro after the NCAA Championship.

Other collegians that had success are BYU senior Juli Erekson (T-5), Florida senior Whitney Myers (T-18) and Tennessee senior Marci Turner (T-24).

For full results, click here.

THE FAB FIVE
My look at the top five teams in the country right now

MEN
1. UCLA (Last week: 2)
The Bruins personified the phrase "Better late than never," by winning all three tournaments on their compact fall schedule after claiming the CordeValle Collegiate yesterday, beating top-10 ranked Pac-10 rivals Stanford and USC among others.

2. Charlotte (3)
To close a tremendous fall season, the 49ers claimed win No. 4 yesterday at the SSC Pacific Invitational when their counting scorers (Jonas Enander Hedin, Stefan Wiedergruen, Andrew DiBitetto and Trevor Murphy) shot a 17-under 271 for the round and six under on the final three holes to pull out a two-shot win over Kansas State. Maybe you hadn't heard of the 49ers in August but you certain know about them now.

3. Alabama (1)
Four Crimson Tide players have stroke averages of 72.0 or lower for the fall, explaining the team's three wins and five top-five showings. Loads of experience in Tuscaloosa has them eyeing their first SEC crown since 1979, if not even bigger titles.

4. Georgia (4)
The Bulldogs have the nation's best adjusted scoring average (70.84) and the lowest average drop score (75.13). Guess replacing first-team All-Americans Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd wasn't so tough after all.

5. USC (5)
The Trojans never really seemed to hit on all cylinders this fall, yet had three different players post top-10 finishes. If they can improve on their final-round stroke average (team ranks 134th with a 74.67 average among the entire roster), be wary of the men of Troy.

WOMEN
1. Duke (1)
The Blue Devils once again had no match at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play, winning the event for the fourth time in five years (the fifth year, they didn't play in the event). Third win of the fall puts the three-time defending NCAA champions ahead of last year's pace.

2. Arizona State (2)
Showed they could hang with Duke with their come-from-behind victory against them at the Stanford Intercollegiate. The Sun Devils play just one spring tournament with Duke in the same field: the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson next February.

3. UCLA (3)
Successful fall campaign included two wins (Mason Rudolph, Kent Youel) and top-five ranking in par-3 (3.13), par-4 (4.12) and par-5 (4.95) scoring.

4. USC (4)
The Trojans hit a collective 83.1 percent of fairways in four starts, while individual wins from Belen Mozo (Edean Ihlanfeldt) and Dewi Claire Schreefel (NCAA Preview) highlighted a successful fall.

5. Open
Any of a half-dozen schools (Arkansas, Arizona, Auburn, Florida, Denver, Georgia) could lay claim as the nation's fifth best squad. All, however, have a ways to catch the Big Four.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Oct. 30-Nov. 4
MEN
Brent Long, Western Kentucky
The senior’s third fall win came in record-setting fashion as he shot a school-best 16-under 200 to win the UTSA Roadrunner Invitational. Long’s one-stroke victory came after a final-round 63 at Comanche Trail GC.

WOMEN
Katie Kempter, Denver
After tying her career-best with a first-round 67 at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, the junior shot 69-72 at Angel Park GC for an eight-under 208 and her first full-field college win. The Pioneers won the team title, beating Arizona by 11.

STAT OF THE WEEK
9-2-1, 7-0-1
Career records of Duke senior Jennifer Pandolfi and junior Amanda Blumenherst, respectively, in the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship. The two each were 3-0-1 this past week at the Ginn Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, Fla., helping the Blue Devils knock off TCU (4-1), Oklahoma State (3-1-1), Tennessee (3-1-1) and Georgia (3-1-1).

STAT OF THE WEEK, TAKE 2
1
The number of rounds (out of 15 total played) by University of Tennessee men's golfers at this week's Turtle Bay Invitational in Hawaii that were over par. Each of the starting five competing for the Volunteers finished in the top 13 as UT cruised to a 21-shot victory after posting a 64-under 800. Charles Ford earned a share of medalist honors (with UC Irvine's Sean Shahi) after shooting a 16-under 200. Ford was joined by Robin Wingardh, Chris Paisley and Philip Pettitt in posting three sub-par rounds. Only David Holmes had an over-par round, a second-round 74, that he made amends for by shooting a third-round 62. For good measure, Ben Spickard played as an individual for Tennessee and shot two sub-par rounds as well.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
⿢ Don't expect any real surprises next Wednesday as high school seniors begin to sign their national letters of intent and officially commit to various college golf programs for fall 2008. Nearly all the top-ranked boys and girls have made their intentions know months ago (see list below). The only real hold-out has been Vicky Hurst, the AJGA girls player of the year, who isn't sure if she's going to go to college or turn professional. Hurst told Florida Today that she likely will not sign with any of her five top choices (Duke, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Florida and Georgia) during the early signing period, but would make a decision on going to college or not next month. Meanwhile, the 17-year-old from Melbourne, Fla., is competing this week at the Duramed Futures Tour Qualifying School.

"It's such a big decision. That's why it's taking so long,'' Hurst told the Lakeland Ledger after opening the tournament with an even-par 72 at Cleveland Heights GC. "By the end of this week, I'll have a better idea. And I'll see where my game is at the end of the year."

College verbals
Boys AJGA first-team All-Americans (rank according to Polo Golf Ranking)
1. Peter Uihlein, Oklahoma State; 3. Morgan Hoffman, Oklahoma State; 4. Bud Cauley, Alabama; 6. Wesley Graham, Florida State; 9. Luke Guthrie, Illinois; 10. David Chung, Stanford; 11. Gregor Main, UCLA.

Second-team
16. Alex Shi Yup Kim, UCLA; 17. Alex Kang, USC; 20. Mu Hu, Florida; 21. Sang Yi, LSU; 24. Joseph Barr, Kentucky.

Girls AJGA first-team All-Americans
1. Vicky Hurst, Undecided; 3. Stephanie Kono, UCLA; 5. Mina Harigae, Duke; 6. Ayaka Kaneko, Pepperdine;  8. Allie White, North Carolina.

Second-team
Sydney Burlison, Stanford; Brianna Do, UCLA

⿢ The list of freshman who've played well this fall (Oklahoma State's Rickie Fowler; Georgia's Harris English; Central Florida's Jhared Hack, etc.) got one deeper yesterday after Pepperdine's Andrew Putnam shot a 63 in the final round of the Turtle Bay Invitational to finish in third place with a 15-under 201. This came after a runner-up finish in his only other start of the fall, at the Pepperdine Club Glove Invitational. Putnam is the younger brother of PGA Tour pro and former Waves All-American Michael Putnam and has already topped his older sibling in just six college rounds; Michael's low 18-hole college showing was a 64. Andrew's 63 ties the school record set by Jason Allred in 2000. Suffice it to say, keep an eye on the younger Putnam this spring as the race for national freshman of the year heats up.

⿢ Sad to hear that Bob Livingstone is going to retire as the Long Beach State men's coach at the end of the 2007-08 season after 14 years. Livingstone hasn't won any national titles since taking over from legendary coach Del Walker in 1994, but he has been a standout coach who chaired the NCAA Division I men's golf committee and has been involved in helping spread the game throughout the Long Beach community through his "Golf: For Business and Life" program.

"With the help of so many of you, the program has grown into something that causes pride in all of us, as well as in the community and at the university," he noted in a press release last week. "I am extremely proud of the 35 young men who have earned their college degrees while representing Long Beach State in the past 14 years."

Livingstone was kind to this writer when I was first learning the beat, never getting tired of many of my obscure questions. He also set a great example for his players and others regarding taking action in their lives. When Livingstone wasn't satisfied with the local government in Long Beach a few years back, he actually decided to run for mayor. He didn't win, but showed that if you don't like something, don't wait for somebody else to do something about it; why not do it yourself.

THE FAB FIVE
My look at the top five teams in the country right now

MEN
1. Alabama
Crimson Tide ends first half of 2007-08 season with second-round loss at Callaway Match Play to SEC-rival South Carolina but with three wins in five tournaments, Jay Seawell's squad has another solid fall. Memo to Michael Thompson: if you value your spot in the Masters field, you'll stay away from any ball that isn't round and has dimples.
Next event: Fall season concluded; John Hayt Intercollegiate, Sawgrass CC, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Feb. 17-19

2. UCLA
All those questioning the Bruins' late start to the season better get in line for some crow after UCLA claims the Callaway Match Play title following a win in their season-opener (Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge). 
Next event: CordeValle Collegiate, CordeValle GC, San Martin, Calif., Nov. 5-7

3. Charlotte
A first-round upset to Coastal Carolina at the Callaway Match Play is the 49ers first blemish for an otherwise tremendous fall season. Having already impressed by going to Northern California and taking The Prestige last month, call they do it again this week? 
Next event: Stockton Sports Commission Pacific Invitational, Brookside CC, Stockton, Calif., Nov. 5-7

4. Georgia
The Bulldogs are obviously loaded with talent (Harris English for top freshman anyone?) as their victories at the Brickyard Collegiate and Isleworth/UCF Invitational have proved. If they can improve on their consistency, they could be a real threat for a national title. Brian Harman ... it's time to step up.
Next event: Fall season concluded; Puerto Rico Classic, Rio Mar CC, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Feb. 29-March 2

5. USC
Flying under the radar out west with UCLA grabbing headlines for its opening wins and Stanford surprising by not claiming a title. The Trojans can wrap up a solid fall season with a W at CordeValle.
Next event: CordeValle Collegiate, CordeValle GC, San Martin, Calif., Nov. 5-7

WOMEN
1. Duke
One bad day in Stanford, when the Blue Devils blew a 12-stroke final-round lead to Arizona State, proved the team can't just show up on the first-tee and be handed a trophy. Don't expect Duke to have lost its confidence, however.   
Next event: Hooters Women's Collegiate Match Play Championship, Ginn Reunion Resort, Kissimmee, Fla., Nov. 4-6

2. Arizona State
One great day in Stanford, when the Sun Devils came back from a 12-stroke final-round deficit to Duke, proved the team can hang with the three-time national champions. Expect Arizona State to have regained its confidence.
Next event: Fall season concluded; Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge, Palos Verdes CC, Palos Verdes, Calif., Feb. 11-13

3. UCLA
The Bruins closed the fall the way they began it, with a solid four-stroke victory Wednesday at the Kent Youel Invitational in Hawaii. U.S. Women's Amateur champion Maria Jose Uribe's smooth transition to the college game—she claimed her first individual win in Hawaii, sharing the title with teammate Tiffany Joh—makes her a player to watch come spring.
Next event: Fall season concluded; Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge, Palos Verdes CC, Palos Verdes, Calif., Feb. 11-13

4. USC
Re-emergence of Dewi Claire Schreefel (NCAA preview winner) and development of Belen Mozo (co-medalist at Edean Ihlanfeldt)  make the fall even more of a success for the Trojans than their one team-title might indicate. Now if only Paola Moreno could return to last year's first-team All-American form.
Next event: Fall season concluded; Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge, Palos Verdes CC, Palos Verdes, Calif., Feb. 11-13

5. Arkansas
The Lady Razorback just might be more than Stacy Lewis and the pips after claiming the UA/Ann Rhoads Intercollegiate title to close the fall.
Next event: Fall season concluded; Lady Puerto Rico Classic, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Feb. 24-26

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Oct. 22-29
MEN
Harris English, Georgia
After earning medalist honors at the Brickyard Collegiate two weeks earlier, the freshman made it back-to-back wins with a three-stroke victory at the Isleworth-UCF Invitational Oct. 24. English’s 11-under 205 broke a tournament record, as did his final-round 66. He also helped the Bulldogs win the team title by 21 strokes. (Photo courtesy of the University of Georgia Sports Information Department.)

WOMEN
Nannette Hill, Wake Forest
The junior from Pelham, N.Y., propelled by a second-round tournament-record 66 at CC of Landfall’s Nicklaus course, became the first Demon Deacon to claim a 54-hole title in five years when she shot a one-over 217 to win the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C., Oct. 28. Hill’s efforts also led Wake Forest to the team title (14-over 878, nine strokes ahead of Purdue), its first since 2004. (Photo courtesy of the Wake Forest University Sports Information Department.)

STAT OF THE WEEK
50
Number of days between when the Stanford men's golf team played its first competitive round of the 2007-08 season (Topy Cup, Sept. 4) and the UCLA men's golf team played its first competitive round (Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge, Oct. 22).

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
* Be careful what you wished for college coaches and the NCAA Division I men's golf committee. Those first-round upsets at the Callaway Match Play Championship last week are what could be in store when the NCAA Championship likely converts to a similar format in 2009 to determine a national champion. Granted the format at last week's event in Reynolds Plantation in Georgia was pure match play rather than the medal/match format being proposed for the NCAAs. Still with top-seed Charlotte falling to No. 16 Coastal Carolina, No. 5 Oklahoma State losing to No. 12 Tennessee, No. 7 Florida State getting beat by No. 11 Lamar and No. 8 Duke being knocked off by No. 9 Florida, you get the idea ... just because a team might play well in stroke play doesn't mean they'll be able to run the table when they go head-to-head with the other "elite 8" squads. It will certainly make for some exciting golf but also could make for grumbling from schools that suggest "the best" team is most often identified in stroke play.

* College coaches have struggled the past few years with how USGA and NCAA rules on amateurism differ, creating room for confusion for junior golfers who are prospective college student-athletes (i.e. Juniors can receive money for expenses under USGA rules, but not NCAA rules). Thanks to conversations between coaches, via the Golf Coaches' Association of America and the National Golf Coaches Association, and the USGA, the latter has included wording in the new Rules of Amateur Status that goes into effect in January that specifically notes two instances where the USGA and NCAA rules may vary. Kudos to the USGA for trying to help on the matter. Now, if only the NCAA would amend its guidelines to allow USGA rules to apply to college athletes as well as all other amateurs.

* Another tip of the cap to the USGA for amending the Decisions on the Rules of Golf to allow college assistant coaches to provide advise during tournaments. This is another instance where college coaches and the USGA worked together to find a reasonable solution to a rather specific issue that faced college golf. It will allow the sport to grow at the college level and is good for the game.

* It won't get much attention outside Tuscaloosa, but tomorrow there will be a public memorial service at the Jerry Pate Center at Old Colony CC for former Alabama men's coach Conrad Rehling. The club will dedicate the center's back deck in Rehling's honor, a small token of appreciation for the hall of fame coach (he was part of the GCAA's inaugural class in 1980) who led the Crimson Tide to their only SEC title in 1979 during his 17-year career with U of A. I never met Rehling, who passed away last April from congestive heart failure at 87, but listening to other coaches talk about him you get the sense that he was not only a good coach but a good man. His work to get the Special Olympics involved in golf (and vice versa) was so appreciated that Rehling received the PGA of America's LIfetime Achievement Award in 2005 and the Special Olympics created an award named after him.

TOURNAMENTS TO WATCH
MEN
CordeValle Collegiate
    (For live scoring, link here to Golfstat)
CordeValle GC, San Martin, Calif.
Nov. 5-7
Host: UCLA
Field: Arizona, Augusta State, Coastal Carolina, Lamar, Northwestern, Santa Clara, Southern California, Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA, Washington
Defending champion: Stanford (42-under 822); Rob Grube, Zack Miller, Stanford (14-under 202)
Skinny: Not only are the host Bruins are looking to close-out their compact fall season with a third-straight victory but they have some bitter memories from playing in this event last year, when they were knocked off by eventual national champion Stanford by 38 strokes. UCLA coach Derek Freeman says that part of the reason for the team set up its schedule with its late start and decrease number of tournaments is to be ready for this event. "It's important to us to play well here," Freeman told Campus Insider. "It will be a gauge for how successful a fall we've had as well as help us to prepare better for the spring." To win, though, the Bruins must be wary not only of the defending champion Cardinal but their crosstown rivals in USC. Expect a low-scoring shootout with a close finish.

Battle on the Bend
Cypress Bend GC (Par 72, 6,739 yards), Many, La.
Nov. 4-6
Host: Louisiana
Field: Centenary, Central Arkansas, Louisiana, McNeese State, Missouri-Kansas City, Nicholls State, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas State

The Wolverine at Mission Inn
Mission Inn Resort & Club (El Campeon Course; Par 72, 6,923 yards), Howie-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Nov. 5-6
Host: Michigan
Field: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Penn State, Xavier

Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational
Turtle Bay Resort GC (Palmer Course), Kahuku, Hawaii
Nov. 5-7
Host: Hawaii
Field: Baylor, Boise State, Charleston, Fresno State, Hartford, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico State, Pepperdine, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Mary's (Calif.), Tennessee, Texas-Arlington, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UNC Wilmington, UNLV, Weber State, Wyoming

Stockton Sports Commission Pacific Invitational
    (For live scoring, link here to Golfstat)
Brookside CC, Stockton, Calif.
Nov. 5-7
Host: University of the Pacific
Field: BYU, Charlotte, CSU-Northridge, Fresno State, Kansas State, Marquette, Northern Colorado, Ohio State, Oregon, Pacific, Rice, San Jose State, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara

Sam Hall Intercollegiate
Canebrake CC, Hattiesburg, Miss.
Nov. 5-6
Host: Southern Mississippi 
Field: Alabama-Birmingham, Illinois State, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, New Orleans, Rhode Island, St. John's, Southern Mississippi, Troy

Macon Bank/WCU Intercollegiate
CC at Sapphire Valley, Cashiers, N.C.
Nov. 5-6
Host: Western Carolina
 

WOMEN
Hooters Women's Collegiate Match Play Championship
    (For live scoring, link here to Golfstat)
Ginn Reunion Resort, Kissimmee, Fla.
Nov. 4-6
Field: Alabama, Auburn, Denver, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, Michigan State, New Mexico, Oklahoma State, Purdue, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, TCU, Vanderbilt
Defending champion: Duke
Skinny: The Blue Devils have had success in this event, winning three times in its five-year history. While a few schools continue to decline their invitations due to the event's sponsor, the field has 13 of the top 25 teams in the most recent Golf World/NGCA coaches' poll and should serve as fun way to end the fall for the field. Another Duke win wouldn't be a shock, but keep your eye on Auburn as a possible dark-horse winner.

USF Women's Invitational
    (For live scoring, link here to Golfstat)
Richmond CC, Richmond, Calif.
Nov. 5-6
Host: San Francisco