Crown to head back to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Tournament
UMAC Men’s Golf Championship Website
UMAC Men’s Golf Championship Final Results
ALEXANDRIA, Minn. – Crown College hoisted the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s golf championship trophy for the second consecutive year as the Storm defended their title despite a hard charge from the University of Northwestern and Bethany Lutheran College on the final day. Crown, led by individual medalist Thomas Messner, won the three-day, nine-team finale by 16 strokes over second place University of Northwestern as the Storm finished with a three-day team score of 920, followed by Northwestern with 936. Bethany Lutheran College was third with a three-day team score of 947.
The Storm’s Day 1 team score of 296 put the reigning champion in the driver’s seat right away. Head coach Mike Gmetro’s squad never looked back from there, leading the field again on Friday with a 310 before Saturday’s final round of 314. Northwestern posted a team score of 305 on Saturday to close the gap but not enough to take the title away from Crown.
Through two rounds, Messner was even on the course at the par 72, 6,540-yard Alexandria Golf Club, the childhood home course of PGA professional and Minnesota golf legend Tom Lehman. Messner carded a 77 on Saturday to finish the event with a 5-over par score of 221. Josh Hansen of Martin Luther College scored a 71 (1-under) in the third round to finish just one stroke back of Messner at 222 for a three-day score.
Each day of the three-day tournament improved from the previous as far as weather was concerned, with Saturday’s third round being played with temperatures in the mid-70s, which was a drastic change from 2014 when snow flurries were in the air. Reed Sorensen finish in third place for individuals with a 226 after posting a final round 74 on Saturday.
Crown will represent the UMAC at the NCAA Division III Championship starting on May 12, 2016 at Mendon Golf Club and Midvale Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.
To cap off the fall portion of the 2015-2016 golf season, the UMAC will announce its postseason awards on Monday, October 12 at umacathletics.com.