March 24, 2015
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Jenna Marina
UCFKnights.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - When your roster only has two U.S. citizens on it, it is certainly a plus when one of them is a hometown kid - especially when that hometown is Orlando, one of the country's top golf destinations.
This is the case for the UCF men's team and sophomore Ryan Stovash. The eight-man roster features players from six different countries, and Stovash takes pride in teeing off regularly in his backyard.
"I definitely feel like I have a home course advantage on most of the courses we play because I grew up playing those courses," he said. "I have a lot of family and friends around that come out to our home tournament that we host every year. That's always fun for me to play in front of people that I know and places where I grew up playing."
The former Lake Nona High School standout picked up a club at the age of 3. His father, uncle and grandfather are avid golfers, so he suspects the passion for the game is simply in his genes.
He gave up baseball and basketball as a young teen to focus on golf, where he felt he had more opportunity. After being named the All-Central Florida Boys Golfer of the Year in 2012, it was safe to assume that he made the right choice.
Much of his life has revolved around the sport. Stovash used to head to the driving range after school and stay there until sunset. He still practices anywhere between 4-6 hours a day now.
He used to tag along with his father to the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and remembers watching Tiger Woods compete. The aspiring pro saw no reason to leave Florida for the next phase of his life: college.
"The weather here is perfect for golf," he said. "You can't really beat 85 degrees in March."
Besides, with the breadth of international talent surrounding him, his teammates keep things interesting for him. Stovash said he feels as if he has traveled the world just in his day-to-day interactions with the squad.
"It's helped me out with my cooking skills," he said with a laugh. "My roommate is from Italy. Last year Portugal and Finland were all in the same dorm with me. So you learn a lot of different dialects and languages. You definitely get a lot of new experiences, new ways of looking at things."
He has also learned ways to improve his game. He said practice habits, preparation and planning out his day are all traits he picked up from his former teammates, two-time All-American Greg Eason and Kyle Wilshire.
Stovash said that while this season has been more of a rebuilding year, he has high hopes for the remaining months of the season and the years to come.
"I've tried to not quite take the role of Greg, but I try to push the other guys through how I play and act on the golf course," he said "I'm trying to compete to win each golf tournament. I'm trying to shoot for something big, not just an exemption or top-25 finish. If they see someone else playing better, it helps the other guys to shoot to beat that person."
He relies on head coach Bryce Wallor and most of all, his family, in his quest to make his time at UCF memorable and his aspirations of a pro career a reality.
"I've got a lot of support from them, so it's trying [to succeed] for them and not as much for myself. To prove that all the hours my dad spent with me at baseball practice or golf practice or basketball, they were meant for something."