Devin Cherry sets school record in golf tournament

After a multiple knee ligament surgery in January 2009, sophomore Devin Cherry bounced back in the HBCU Golf Invitational to set a record and assisted the Rams to a fourth-place finish.

The criminal justice major from Charlotte won an individual medal, and his round of 68 gave him the  lowest total in Winston-Salem State history.  Cherry shot four under par during the tournament at Browns Mill Golf Club in Atlanta, Nov. 1.

Of the eight-man roster, Cherry is the only dominant left-handed player on the team, and he became the first Ram from the men's golf team since Josh Vogler in 2006 to win a tournament.  

Vogler's score was a 69, but Cherry overshadowed the previous mark by a difference of one point. 

"The way I feel about winning was kind of an emotional thing for me," Cherry said.

"This is my first semester back at my full potential so to win a tournament outright, and set school history is kind of emotional because I was hurt and I couldn't perform."  

Cherry's injury occurred during the Christmas holiday in 2008.  The operation, which was a reconstructive knee surgery, came about after Cherry tore his anterior cruciate         ligament, medial collateral ligament, and posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.  

The knee was replaced with the knee of a deceased 18-year old. 

"It was bad," said Robert Bethea, the second year head coach of the Rams golf team.

"He's got another person's knee.  He put a lot into it to get back.  Devin has made himself a lot better."

The timetable for Cherry after his operation was for him to be on crutches for three to four weeks, but he cut that down to around two weeks.  

Coach Bethea said that Cherry paid his dues, trained hard, and attended extensive therapy sessions and weight training every day.  

"With the operation he had, he was supposed to be out for the season," Bethea said.  

"He was able to get back early, and I was really surprised.  He played through a lot of pain."

Cherry, who started playing golf at the age of five, did not take a medical redshirt last season.  

He returned to the lineup for the Rams for two late tournaments in April and May.

"I wasn't recovered," Cherry said. 

"I did not return to my full potential until July 2.  I just sacrificed for my team so that we could place better in those two tournaments."

 Led by Cherry's record-setting individual medal honors, which included six birdies and two bogeys, the Rams were able to knock off other MEAC competition Hampton, Florida A&M, and South Carolina State in the course of a team total of 317. 

The Rams competed against 17 other schools and were just 15 strokes short off leader Jackson State's team total of 302 in their fourth-place finish.