For the members of the Marquette golf team, the 2008-'09 season didn't disappoint. The thing is, it didn't thrill them either.

With three members returning from a 2007-'08 Big East Championship team, the Golden Eagles seemed poised to match, if not improve, on their three team victories last season. Yet, despite the consistently stellar play of senior Mike Van Sickle, Marquette could never fit all its pieces together simultaneously. The team will most likely conclude its season without a victory, as an NCAA regional selection appears out of the question.

"The weird thing this year was I think we had a more talented team," Van Sickle said. "We just had some bad luck – we had a lot of guys put some good rounds together, but for some strange reason we couldn't get all five of us playing well at the same time."

Van Sickle was one Golden Eagle who played well just about every time he stepped onto the links. A 2007-'08 Golfweek honorable mention All-American, Van Sickle nearly doubled his list of collegiate victories this year, taking home five individual titles for a career total of 11. His 17-under-par total at the Xavier Invitational set a school record, and his 16-under at the Palisades Collegiate Classic was a tournament record.

"Leading up to that tournament, he put in some pretty good work on his swing, made some adjustments in putting, and got his game back on track," said coach Tim Grogan after the Palisades tournament.

Maybe he's greedy. Maybe he's just a perfectionist. But with all the success he's had this year, Van Sickle still sounded disappointed about the tournaments (there weren't many) he couldn't take home.

"I was extremely pleased with the fall season and winning four out of six events," he said. "But at times I played really well and at times I let some good rounds slip away. That's something that's kind of aggravating."

Schwab had a solid, yet not spectacular senior campaign, highlighted by his 1-under par finish at the Palisades Collegiate Classic and his tie for 11th at the Big East Championship. Kretz's 67 at the first round of the Ron Smith/USF Invite was the low round of any Marquette golfer at that tournament, while Sieg's 68 on the final day of the Big East Championship helped the Golden Eagles finish runner-up after a huge early deficit. Haase's 64 on that same day set a Big East Championship record.

Overall, however, Schwab labeled the season as one of "missed opportunities."

"We played a good schedule against a lot of good teams, but if we had just beaten a couple of them, we're in a different position than we are now," he said. "We were starting to play better. It's too bad it had to end."

Both Schwab and Van Sickle said it would be the people, not the golf, that they would remember most about their Marquette careers.

"To be a part of small group, an elite group, when most people on campus don't even realize we have a golf team – it means a lot," Schwab said. "Everyone on a team is a friend and it was great to have the opportunity."

Van Sickle's Marquette career isn't quite over, as he is most likely going to be invited to an NCAA regional as an individual. However, the 2009 Big East Championship marked the final time he would compete alongside his Marquette teammates.

"I've been relishing my last two months here with my teammates," he said. "Going to practice, working out, and traveling to tournaments is something I'm going to miss. But I'll miss these guys too. They're great kids, and good golfers."