HEADLINES AND NOTES:





May 20, 2002
Several SCAC golfers receive post-season awards
Oglethorpe's Jim Owen selected South Region Coach-of-the-Year

LINCOLN, Neb. - Five SCAC men's golfers were selected to Ping All-Region teams as announced at the 2002 Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Division III National Awards dinner Monday evening preceding the national championships. (Complete story)

Trent Erb and Chris Summers of Oglethorpe University were named to the South Region team while David Allan and Alex Walsh of DePauw University were named to the Great Lakes Region team. Ross Goodson of Southwestern University was selected to the West Region team.

In addition, Oglethorpe men's coach Jim Owen was named the South Region Coach-of-the-Year.

Four SCAC golfers were named Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars. Allan, Richard Burgland and Thomas Romance of DePauw along with Robert Fink of Oglethorpe were among the 29 Division III golfers honored.
 

May 16, 2002
Guilford wins its first title at NCAA Men's Golf Championships
Oglethorpe finishes tied for ninth - Petrels best-ever finish in three trips to national championships
Round Four results (Acrobat Reader required)

LINCOLN, Neb. - Guilford College of Greensboro, N.C., won its first NCAA Division III title in men’s golf Thursday after shooting 300 on the fourth and final day of the national championships to finish with a total of 1212 on the par-71 course at Firethorn Golf Club. (2002 Championships homepage)

SCAC representative Oglethorpe University had its best finish in three trips to the NCAA Men's Golf Championships. After a 16th place finish in 1998, and a 13th place finish last season, the Petrels made their best showing with a ninth place finish at this year's championships. Oglethorpe shot a final round 312 to finish the tournament at +114 - tied with Wesley College and Central (Iowa) College.

Leading Oglethorpe on the final day was Chris Summers and Trent Erb - who both fired a 77. Robert Miller followed with an 81 and Robert Fink and Corey Garner each shot 86. For the tournament, Summers was low individual for the Petrels - finishing 19th overall (+23). Following Summers was Erb, who finished 45th (+30), Miller was 55th (+33), Fink finished at 76th (+39) and Garner placed 83rd (+42).

In the fourth round, Guilford rallied past in-state rival Methodist College, which entered the day leading by two strokes, but the Monarchs shot 313 and fell to third in the final team scoring. Meanwhile, Greensboro College, located in the same city as Guilford, shot the best score of the tournament (288) and vaulted from a seventh-place tie into second place.

Guilford avenged a one-stroke loss to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire last season. The team’s top four players, including three seniors, made sure of it by carding scores of 77, 75 and a pair of 74s on a day in which the wind blew many scores into the 80s.

"They just weren’t going to let that happen this year," Guilford Head Coach Jack Jensen said.

With the exception of Tuesday, the Quakers were consistent as a team, shooting 300-311-301-300, behind three All-American efforts. Dave Patterson finished second (295), Andrew Biggadike tied for sixth (299) and Savio Nazareth placed 18th (306). Andrew Eversole came through with his lowest score of the tournament, and John Riddle earned Jensen’s praise by saving the team 12 strokes on the first two days of the meet.

It was Jensen’s third national title as a head coach, but first at the NCAA Division III level. Jensen led Guilford to NAIA titles in men’s basketball in 1973 and men’s golf in 1989.

The individual medallist was Chris Noll from Wesley College. Noll shot 76 on Thursday to finish two strokes ahead of Patterson at 293.

"I hit the ball well," Noll said afterward. "I knew I could win, but didn’t know the scores were going to be this high."

Greensboro finished at 1218, six strokes behind the winner, while Methodist finished at 1223 and defending champion UW-Eau Claire claimed the fourth place trophy at 1233.


May 15, 2002
Storms delay completion of third round at NCAA Championships
Oglethorpe completes round; Petrels shoot a team tournament low 306
Round Three results (Acrobat Reader required)

LINCOLN, Neb. - Passing storms delayed the start of third round action at the 2002 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships on Wednesday at Firethorn Golf Club. Then, after a pair of suspensions due to lightning, play resumed, but 12 teams will need Thursday morning to complete their third round.

Despite the weather delays, Oglethorpe was able to complete its third round and the Petrels responded with their best round of the tournament - a 306 (+22).

Leading Oglethorpe on Wednesday were Chris Summers and Trent Erb, who both fired 73s. Robert Fink and Corey Garner each finished with an 80 and Robert Miller shot an 87.

A shotgun start at approximately 11 a.m. CST is now needed to finish the fourth round on Thursday, pending weather conditions. Showers are expected again overnight and into Thursday.

Among the top 11 teams that did finish Round 3, Methodist College remains ahead, but by a smaller margin. Methodist shot 306 Wednesday for a total of 910, while Guilford College moved back into second with a 301 for the day and 912 for the tournament.

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire gained ground with a 303 score. The Blugolds are now third with a total of 915. Nebraska Wesleyan University dropped to fourth place with 315 strokes, 925 altogether, and Ohio Wesleyan University jumps up a spot to fifth with 928 after carding a 314 on Wednesday.

Muskingum College, which was tied for second, shot 329 on Wednesday to fall out of title contention. The 12 teams that were unable to finish their third round would need to shoot 300 or better to crack the top five heading into the fourth and final round.

Chris Noll of Wesley College reclaimed the individual lead with 74 strokes to put him at 217 for the tournament. Guilford's Dave Patterson is second at 221 thanks to his 71 on Wednesday. Adam Lescalleet of Muskingum and Toni Karjalainen of Averett University are tied for third at 222 after carding scores of 82 and 74, respectively.

May 14, 2002
Oglethorpe moves up to ninth after day two of NCAA Championships
Robert Miller's 73 places him fifth among individuals
Round Two results (Acrobat Reader required)

LINCOLN, Neb. - Oglethorpe University moved up one place from 10th to ninth after firing a 310 in Tuesday's second round of the 2002 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships being played at Firethorn Golf Club.

The Petrels were led by sophomore Robert Miller, who scorched the course for a second-round 73, placing him at +7 for the tournament and fifth place among all individuals. 

Other scores from Oglethorpe on Tuesday included a 78 from Chris Summers and a 79 from Robert Fink (both stand at +15 for the tournament). Corey Garner shot an 80 (+18) and Trent Erb followed with an 84 (+22).

Methodist (N.C.) College moved into the overall lead after a second-round 296 for a two-day total of +36. That gave the Monarchs a six-shot lead over both Muskingum (Ohio) College and the host school Nebraska Wesleyan University heading into Wednesday's third round.

For live scoring of Wednesday's third round, click here.


May 13, 2002
Oglethorpe tied for 10th after first day of NCAA Championships
Defending champ Wisconson-Eau Claire takes early lead
Round One results (Acrobat Reader required)

LINCOLN, Neb. - The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire picked up where it left off last year, firing an opening round 295 at the 2002 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships being played at Firethorn Golf Club.

Oglethorpe University, the SCAC's lone representative in the tournament, is 18 shots back after opening with a 313 - good enough for a tie for 10th place. 

Robert Miller paced the Petrels with a 76 followed by Robert Fink with a 78 and Chris Summers with a 79. Trent Erb and Corey Garner each shot an 80.

Sunday's blustery and cold conditions gave way to blue skies and temperatures on Monday that reached the lower 70s. First round scores followed suit for the defending champs as four of five Blugold golfers shot 75 or better, led by sophomore Andy Dustan's 37+35=72.

"Balance is our strength," fifth-year coach Todd Oehrlein said. "This spring, in particular, we've been pretty consistent."

UW-Eau Claire entered the tournament seeded 10th, but may have gained an edge after playing in Nebraska Wesleyan University's Fall Preview Meet, in which the Blugolds placed third. Counting the practice round on Sunday, Oehrlein's top four golfers had already played three rounds on the challenging course at Firethorn before they teed off on the 10th hole Monday morning.

"(Familiarity) helped us without a doubt," Oehrlein said. "After shooting 6-over-par on our third hole (No. 12), we had a few birdies, found our rhythm and played much better on our second nine holes."

Guilford College, the team runner-up in 2001, is five strokes back (300) and Nebraska Wesleyan, the host school which entered the championship seeded 23rd, is third (304). Wesley College is fourth at 306, and Methodist College, which won six straight national titles from 1994-1999, rounds out the top five at 308.

Another sophomore, Wesley's Chris Noll shot a 69, including 32 on the back nine, to top the individual leader board after day one. Noll, who transferred to Wesley after a month at Florida Southern last semester, had just one bogey on Monday and was pleased about how things are going on his first trip to Nebraska.

"The greens here are really true, and fortunately, my misses went toward the pin," Noll said. "Hopefully, I can keep playing good rounds, and we'll see what happens.

For live scoring of Tuesday's second round, click here.



May 2, 2002
Oglethorpe heading to NCAA Championships
Petrels earn bid for second consecutive year

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -