VILLANOVA, Pa.—Head coach James Wilkes announced the golf team's roster for 2020-21, with this year's squad including eight returning student-athletes and three newcomers. Graduate transfer Ambrose Abbracciamento (Newtown, Pa.) joins previously announced incoming freshmen Jonathan Elkins (South Deerfield, Mass.) and Peter Weaver (Frontenac, Mo.) in forming the Wildcats incoming class. 

"We already had a strong group returning this fall, but with Peter, Jonathan and now Ambrose signing on we have one of the deepest rosters Villanova Golf has ever had," Wilkes said. "I promise that whenever and wherever we are allowed to begin our season, this team will be ready."

The team returns its top four players from last year in terms of 2019-20 stroke averages. Junior Noah Peck (Hunt Valley, Md.) led Villanova with a 73.94 stroke average during the abbreviated 2019-20 campaign in his first season with the team. He also had a team-high four rounds at par or lower.
 
Last season's Wildcats were a well-balanced group, with five different players having a stroke average between 76.31 and 76.64. The returnees from that group are senior Reb Banas (Winnetka, Ill.), junior Jack O'Hara (Loudonville, N.Y.), sophomore Matt Minerva (Elmsford, N.Y.) and junior Matt Davis (Newtown Square, Pa.).  Banas finished second to Peck with a 76.31 stroke average and Minerva enjoyed a strong freshman debut and tallied the team's top tournament finish of the year with a tie for fifth place at the Wildcat Invitational. 
 
O'Hara had a 76.50 stroke average as a sophomore and fired two rounds at even par, while Davis had all seven rounds he played in the Villanova lineup counted towards the team score. Minerva and junior Danny Dougherty (Wilmington, Del.) each appeared in a team-high seven tournaments and played 19 rounds in the lineup during the 2019-20 season.
 
Sophomore Luke Alexander (Rochester, Minn.) and senior Max Siegfried (Villanova, Pa.) are the other two returnees from a year ago. Alexander played in three tournaments as a freshman, while Siegfried appeared in one spring tournament for the Wildcats as a transfer from Virginia before the season was halted.
 
Abbracciamento split his undergraduate career between Hartford and San Diego State, playing the latter two years for the Aztecs as a junior and a senior. He competed in eight tournaments during his time at San Diego State, notching one top-10 and two additional top-20 finishes. Abbracciamento had a 73.36 stroke average in 2019-20.
 
The two freshmen on the 2020-21 roster are each talented golfers who will have a chance to make an impact on the team. Elkins was a three-time all-conference and three-time All-New England Prep selection during his scholastic career and is coming off shooting 68-72 (140, -4) at the World Series of Junior Golf event held in Providence, R.I. earlier this summer. Weaver was a two-time all-state and two-time St. Louis All-Metro performer in high school. He helped lead his team to a state title as a sophomore and was named the Metro Conference Player of the Year as a junior.