The ISU men’s golf team came away from the Virginia Commonwealth University Shootout with the same idea they went in with; a team full of potential just waiting to put it all together.

After finishing its first tournament, the Wolf Run Invitational, two weeks ago, the team showed flashes of excellence. Jacob Aaholm finished in the top 10 overall, Nathan Leary fired a first-place tying first round of 69 and four of the five golfers for the Cyclones finished in the top 54 overall.

At the VCU Shootout, other players took their turns standing out. Most notably, Nate McCoy staked his claim as a top-ranked golfer by carding rounds of 69-68-71, 208 winning the meet by one stroke.

“It felt great to see all the tournament preparation that I, and all of my coaches have worked on, pay off,” McCoy said. “It really feels great.”

ISU coach Andrew Tank was very impressed by McCoy, with the work that he’d put in this past week before the tournament, he thought he was ready to start being aggressive.

“We’re all really happy for Nate,” Tank said. “He’s a really hard worker, and very talented. So it’s really good to see a hard working person succeed.”

Another notable finish was Michael Wuertz. After struggling at the Wolf Run Invitational, Wuertz scored rounds of 73-74-69, 236, at the Shootout, finishing with a strong final round to bump him up to a tie for 10th overall.

“Michael played very solid, and I’m happy with his performance,” Tank said. “I think it’s impressive to see that after how he struggled in the first tournament in Indiana. He’s definitely worked on some things, and I think he was rewarded for his effort.

Now that the VCU Shootout is in the books, the team’s confidence is starting to build.

No captain has been chosen for the season by coaches Tank and Datz, and so far it seems like it is for good reason. Each player has shown signs of promise in the first part of the fall season, and it seems like any player could fire a top round at anytime.

The next tournament for the Cyclones is Saturday, Oct. 2 and Sunday, Oct. 3, at the D.A. Weibring Invitational in Normal, Ill.