The UNC Wilmington men’s golf team was no stranger to success last year. The Seahawks won four tournament titles and are defending CAA champions. It was UNCW’s third CAA title and the first since 2005.

Coach Matt Clark is entering his fourth season with the program after being named CAA coach of the year last spring. It was the second time Clark received the honor, with the other coming when he was coach of league opponent Georgia State in 2006.

The Seahawks return most of the players from last season but will be without former standout Josh Brock, who was a stud for UNCW during all four of his years with the team. Brock is now trying his hand on the professional circuit.

Leading the team this season will be sophomore Payne McLeod, who was the CAA rookie of the year and a member of the first team during his freshman campaign. McLeod was also named to Ping’s All-East Region team with Brock. The Seahawks return redshirt sophomore Stefan Brewer, the 2010 CAA rookie of the year, as well.

“I believe we have a very strong team that could do some damage,” said McLeod. “We have a lot of firepower and we can all take it low… We should make it to nationals and have a chance to compete with the best teams in the nation.”

UNCW will begin the season playing alongside the Seahawk women’s golf team Sept. 11-13, at the Golfweek Team Challenge. It will be the first time either team has participated in the event at Murrell’s Inlet, S.C.

The team will be defending its title at the VCU Shootout (Sept. 26-27) and at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate (March 10-11). They will also participate in a dual match against Drexel on April 25. It will be the first dual match for UNCW since they defeated Baltimore by 19 strokes in 1983.

The Seahawks will also host two tournaments in the spring beginning with the Seahawk Invitational on Feb. 26-27 at Landfall C.C. and then they will co-host the River Landing Intercollegiate with East Carolina on April 6-7 in Wallace, N.C.

“We’re excited with the schedule we’ll be playing during the 2011-12 year,” said Clark in a news release. “We have a great mix of events that will prepare us for the 2012 NCAA Championship. We will get to participate against some of the best teams in the country and we look forward to this challenge.”