The summer had plenty of highlights for the Cyclone men’s golf team. As Andrew Tank gets ready for his second season as coach, he has two additional recruits for the fall season, and returning senior Nate McCoy, who won three tournaments.

Tank, along with assistant coach Patrick Datz, had their first entire offseason with things already in place.

“Last summer was just a lot of transition as I took the job in July,” Tank said. “It was a mad dash to get moved in and down here to Ames. This summer was different in the sense that I did a lot more recruiting.”

Along with three recruits they picked up last November, two more were picked up this summer. One recruit is Zach Steffen, who played in junior college at Indian Hills last season and helped the team win the 2011 NJCAA national championship.

“Zach brings some experience,” Tank said. “We are returning only two players who competed last year. He had a strong summer, so I think he will be a great addition to the team.”

Steffen’s strong summer included a fourth-place finish at the Iowa Masters in Ames and a seventh-place finish at the Herman Sani Invitational in Des Moines.

McCoy will be returning with a lot of experience he gained from the summer. He competed in multiple events and won three of them, which were the Dogwood Invitational in Atlanta, as well as the Iowa Masters and Herman Sani events.

“Dogwood is by far the best victory of the three,” Tank said. “That was more of a national field. A lot of the top amateurs and college players were there.”

McCoy finished at 22 under par at the Dogwood Invitational.

“I was going up against favorites in the country,” McCoy said. “I did not have any regrets, and I really could not have done much better. I played without any fear.”

McCoy’s game has improved both mentally and physically over the summer.

“He exerted confidence,” Tank said. “At the Iowa Masters, which was after the Dogwood, he just looked much more confident and in control of his game.”

With McCoy returning as the senior leader, he knows he has to set an example and set a pace.

“I am doing better at when I need to take a break,” McCoy said.”I paced myself pretty well and did not let myself get burned out. I was playing pretty much every week.”