Tigers Tune Up For Conference Tournament With Big Win At Wooster
Wittenberg led The Nye Intercollegiate from start to finish as Sam Geise and Ben Hogenkamp share medalist honors.
Ben Hogenkamp (left) and Sam Geise shared medalist honors at the 2013 Nye Intercollegiate, hosted by the College of Wooster.
Photo by Jeff Roope
WOOSTER, Ohio – The Wittenberg men's golf team has competed in nine tournaments in six different states during the 2012-13 season. Nowhere have the Tigers enjoyed more success than in their home Buckeye state, where they have won three of four tournaments after topping the field at The Nye Intercollegiate, hosted by the College of Wooster.
Wittenberg also won tournaments hosted by Ohio Wesleyan and Denison during the fall portion of the campaign, with only a fifth-place finish in their own Rosencrans-Maurer Invitational standings between the Tigers and perfection in Ohio. The latest came against 16 teams, including six other North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) members, on the par-72, 6,545-yard course at historic Wooster Country Club.
The Tigers, ranked 14th in the latest NCAA Division III national poll, posted scores of 308 and 301 to lead from wire-to-wire. Mount Union took second place, 21 strokes behind Wittenberg's pace-setting total of 609. Host Wooster placed third at 640.
Individually, The Nye Intercollegiate featured a breakout performance of sorts for Wittenberg freshman Sam Geise (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro). After playing in just five of the Tigers' first 18 rounds this season, Geise carded scores of 76 and 74 to tie teammate Ben Hogenkamp (Minster, Ohio/Minster) for medalist honors. Both finished with two-day totals of 150, four strokes clear of junior David Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), who finished alone in third place with a 154.
All five Wittenberg players finished in the top 20 as sophomore John Chaney (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) placed seventh with a 157 and sophomore Alex Andrews (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) rounded things out with a 160, good for a tie for 17th place.
The tournament title served as a final tune-up for the two-week NCAC Championship Series, which includes tournaments hosted by Denison April 27-28 and Ohio Wesleyan May 4-5, with the winner earning the conference's automatic berth in the 2013 NCAA Division III Tournament in Destin, Fla. The Tigers have won three straight NCAC championships.