Three Signed By WVU Golf Team

WVU Inks Trio on Signing Day

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Nov. 14, 2019) – Three Mountaineers will join the West Virginia University golf team for the 2020-21 season, as coach Sean Covich announced the signings of Jackson Davenport (Austin, Texas/West Lake High), Olivier Ménard (Salaberry de Valleyfield, Quebec/Cegep Andre-Laurendeau) and Will Stakel (Peachtree Corners, Ga./Wesleyan High) as part of National Signing Day.

“This is a really strong signing class for us,” Covich said. “I have high expectations for these guys because they have high expectations for themselves. Not only have they achieved success on the golf course, but they have also performed well in the classroom. I am excited to add Jackson, Olivier and Will to our Mountaineer golf family. They are quality young men who will represent our program with class both on and off the golf course.”

Davenport comes to Morgantown from Austin, Texas, where he played for West Lake High. Ranking as the No. 91 player in the class of 2020 per the Junior Golf Scoreboard, he posted a pair of runner-up finishes on the Legends Junior Tour in 2019, shooting 10-under-par at the Bluebonnet Championship (68-66) and finishing one-under at the George Hannon Invitational (74-69). He added another top-10 finish on the Legends Junior Tour, shooting even-par to place eighth at the James A. Ragan Invitational in 2019. Davenport posted a score of 10-under-par to finish as the runner-up at the Texas 6A Regional Championship (69-65) in 2018 and went on to help West Lake win the 2018 Texas 6A State Championship. Additionally, he picked up a top-five finish at the 2018 AJGA Hale Irwin Championship and a top-25 finish at the 2019 AJGA Under Armour Jordan Spieth Championship. The son of Dan and Payton, Davenport served as a team captain for West Lake was named a 2019 academic all-district honoree. His older brother Reid plays golf at Vanderbilt.

“Jackson is one of those kids you really want on your team. He’s a great ball striker with plenty of length off the tee, but more importantly, he’s the type of kid that elevates others around him. He will achieve success in the classroom, represent us well in the community and be one heck of a golfer for us in the Big 12 Conference.”

As one French Canadian in Etienne Papineau prepares to graduate in 2020, the Mountaineers will add another in Team Canada’s Ménard. A native of Salaberry de Valleyfield, Quebec, Ménard attended Cegep Andre-Laurendeau and played out of Whitlock Golf & Country Club. He boasts wins at the 2018 Quebec Junior Open Championship (73-68) and the 2017 Quebec Match Play Championship (6-0) and was the runner-up at the Canadian Junior Championship (70-72-71-71) and Quebec Match Play Championship (5-1) in 2018. A 2019 member of Team Canada (Junior) and the Quebec Amateur Team, Ménard was a two-time selection for All-Canadian Athlete for CCAA. He posted third-place finishes at the 2018 PING CCAA National Championship and the Alexander Tunis Championship while taking fourth at the 2018 CN Future Links Quebec Championship. Additionally, Ménard posted fifth-place finishes at the 2018 Quebec U25 Amateur Championship, the 2018 Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship and the 2019 CCAA National Championship. He also has competed in the 2019 Memorial Amateur Championship (seventh place), 2019 Duke of Kent Championship (11th place), 2019 Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship (12th place), 2019 Glencoe Invitational (18th place) and 2018 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship (48th place). He is the son of Patricia Quirion and Sylvain Ménard.

“Olivier is a very accomplished junior and amateur player,” Covich said. “Being selected to represent Team Canada on their Junior Team says a lot about his potential. I look forward to having Olivier on our team, but he will have some big shoes to fill as his fellow Québécois Etienne Papineau will graduate in the spring.”

Hailing from Peachtree Corners, Georgia, Stakel played for Wesleyan High, where he’s the program’s all-time individual scoring leader, and out of the Atlanta Athletic Club. He ranks as the No. 16 prospect in Georgia’s class of 2020 via Junior Golf Scoreboard. In 2019, he posted wins at both the Cambridge Cup (seven-under-par) and the Georgia High School Regional Championship (four-under-par). Stakel was the medalist at the 2018 HJGT Atlanta Fall Open (75-67) and the runner-up at the 2017 Donald Ross Junior Championship (74-71). Additionally, he posted top-10 finishes at the 2018 North & South Junior Championship (sixth place), 2019 SJGT Blake Hadden Memorial Junior (ninth place), 2019 AJGA Dominican Junior Open (10th place) and 2019 Carolinas-Georgia Junior Championship (10th place) along with top-25 finishes at the 2018 Southern Junior Championship (16th place) and 2019 AJGA Rome Junior Classic (25th place). Stakel earned first-team honors for all-state Georgia and all-Gwinnett County in 2019 and was a third-team all-state Georgia honoree in 2017. The son of John and Courtney Stakel, he represented Team Georgia in the 2018 Georgia vs. South Carolina matches.

“We’re very excited to have Will join the Mountaineer golf family. He is a very talented player from Georgia who has a lot of upside. He has played some really good golf during his junior career, but I believe that his best golf is ahead of him in college and beyond.”

via WVU Sports