NORMAN, Okla. -- The Christopher Newport men's golf team will start the 2022-23 campaign ranked No. 9 in the nation according to the Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches' Poll. The Captains finished last season ranked No. 17 in the rankings and return all five starters from the NCAA Division III Championship appearance a year ago. 

Under the direction of head coach Jamie Coleman, the Captains have become a staple in the coaches' poll rankings. Last season, the Captains' started a program-best No. 11 in the preseason poll and climbed to as high as No. 7 ahead of the championships. 

Methodist received 13 first-place votes to take the pole position in the preseason coaches rankings with 369 total points. Emory got one first-place votes (341 pts) and is ranked second, followed by Huntingdon (340 pts), Carnegie Mellon (289 pts), and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, with the last first-place vote, (278 pts) rounds out the top five. 

This season, the Captains welcome back All-Americans Alex Price and Robb Kinder to lead a squad that also returns NCAA participants Aidan Baron, Jack Gessaman, and Carrter Morris. Also competing for a spot in the starting rotation are junior Drew Parr, sophomores Owen Cook and Michael Thomas, and newcomer Austin Smith. 

Price is coming off an accomplished summer that saw him qualify for the U.S. Amateur where he made history as one of the most accomplished Division III performers in the event. Last season, he became the first three-time All-American in program history and continues to add to his ledger as one of the top athletes in CNU golf history. Kinder returns after finishing second at the 2021 NCAA Division III National Championship followed by another standout season a year ago. Kinder ranks second to only Price in career scoring average with a 73.8 mark during his tenure. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on September 26-27 as they open the 2022-23 campaign at the Gate City Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. 

Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches' Poll - September 9

Rank	University	Points
1	Methodist (13)	369
2	Emory (1)	341
3	Huntingdon	340
4	Carnegie Mellon	289
5	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1)	278
6	Wittenberg	273
7	Illinois Wesleyan	262
8	Sewanee	237
9	Christopher Newport	223
10	Hampden-Sydney	220
11	Piedmont	218
12	Washington & Lee	215
13	Babson	197
14	Oglethorpe	174
15	Greensboro	157
16	New York University	152
17	Denison	92
18	Berry	90
19	Kenyon College	89
20	Aurora University	80
21	Willamette	69
22	Rochester	66
23	Mary Hardin-Baylor	64
24	Guilford	49
25	Texas-Dallas	48

Others receiving votes: Concordia (TX) (37); York (PA) (31); Gustavus Adolphus (27); Saint John's (MN) (26); Trinity (TX) (22); Lynchburg (18); RPI (17); Averett (16); McMurry (16); Hope (11); Dallas (10); Skidmore (9); Pomona-Pitzer (7); Franklin & Marshall (7); Redlands (6); LeTourneau (5); Southwestern (TX) (5); Transylvania (3); Gettysburg (3); Wisconsin-Eau Claire (3); Texas Lutheran (2); Rhodes (1).