Tiger Golf Teams Complete NCAC Sweep For Second Straight Year

WOOSTER, Ohio - It was a tough slog over two weekends - four rounds of golf played in a variety of challenging weather conditions. But as the sun shined at Wooster Country Club at the conclusion of the final round of the 2016 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship Series, the Wittenberg Tigers once again held a pair of first-place trophies aloft.

After claiming the top spot in NCAC Championship Series No. 1 at Boulder Creek Golf Club a week earlier, Wittenberg's men finished in a first-place tie with Allegheny at NCAC Championship No. 2 at Wooster Country Club. Over the course of four rounds, the Tigers posted an overall stroke total of 1,178 to finish 15 ahead of Allegheny in the final standings.

The NCAC title is Wittenberg's seventh in a row, and it earned the Tigers, ranked fifth in the latest GolfStat national statistical rankings, a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. A year after finishing a program-best third in the national tourney, Wittenberg will take aim at the ultimate prize in small college men's golf May 10-13 at Midvale Country Club in Rochester, NY.

Wittenberg's women dominated the NCAC Championship Series from start to finish for a second straight year. The Tigers posted the best score in each of the four rounds, ranging from a 308 on the second day of NCAC Championship Series No. 1 to 333 on the soggy opening day of NCAC Championship Series No. 2, en route to a total score of 1,280. DePauw was the runner-up for a second straight year with a total of 1,338 strokes.

The next stop for Wittenberg's women is the NCAA Division III Tournament May 10-13 at Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas. The Tigers, ranked sixth in the latest GolfStat national statistical rankings, finished as runners-up in their first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2015.

"It was as challenging a golf course as we've played in my nine years (at Wittenberg)," said Tiger Head Coach Jeff Roope. "It was wet and long, we got some mud balls, the greens were firm and difficult to read, and just in general it was a really hard course to score on.

"The top level competition we played all year prepared us for the situation. Coach (Andy) Bonar and I are extremely proud of not only the 10 players who competed this weekend, but all 18 players who make up our programs and make them what they are - NCAC Champions!"

Wittenberg's men carded rounds of 298 and 301 at Wooster Country Club, which was playing 6,545 yards and par-72. The Tigers' total score of 599 was matched by Allegheny, which rallied from a nine-stroke deficit after the opening round.

Individually, freshman Colin Laszlo (Waipahu, Hawaii/Punahou) led the way for the Tigers in third place with a two-round total of 148. He was followed by junior Garrett Brickley (Pickerington, Ohio/North) in fifth with a score of 149, senior Sam Geise (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) and freshman Isaac Hartley (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue) in a tie for sixth with matching totals of 151, and junior Mark David Wright (Westerville, Ohio/Tree of Life) in 13th with a score of 155.

For the Championship Series, Geise was Wittenberg's leader with a four-round total of four-over-par 292 to finish third. Laszlo was next in fourth place with a 297, Brickley took fifth with a 298, Hartley placed sixth with a 300, and Wright rounded things out in seventh with a 301.

On the women's side, sophomore Jane Hopkinson-Wood (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) ran away from the competition to claim medalist honors in NCAC Championship Series No. 2, medalist honors in the overall NCAC Championship Series, and NCAC Player of the Year honors, which she won for a second consecutive year. Hopkinson-Wood carded rounds of 78 and 80 at Wooster Country Club, which was playing 5,825 yard and par-72, to win NCAC Championship Series No. 2 by four strokes over senior teammate Maggie Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore).

Junior Macy Hubbard (Mason, Ohio/Mason) was next for Wittenberg with a score of 171, good for sixth place. Sophomore Brianna Yee (Las Vegas, Nev./Faith Lutheran) finished seventh with a 175 and freshman Chloe Bradburn (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus Academy) rounded things out with a 179 to finish 10th.

Hopkinson-Wood took the top spot in the overall NCAC Championship Series with a four-round total of 308, followed by Smith in second with a 313. Hubbard finished fourth with a 327, Bradburn took seventh with a 340, and Yee placed eighth with a 345.

Roope was awarded NCAC Coach of the Year honors for both men's and women's golf following the tournament. Roope has now won six awards for men's golf and three straight for women's golf.

Written By: Ryan Maurer