UMAC Men's Golf Championship Set to Tee Off Thursday
Video Interview with Evan Lunda, Northland College
UMAC Men's Golf Championship Webpage
ALEXANDRIA, Minn. – Alexandria Golf Club in Alexandria, Minnesota is set to host the 2015 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Golf Championship this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Nine UMAC teams will compete in the three-day, 54-hole event with the winner claiming not only the 2015 UMAC title, but also a trip to the 2016 NCAA Division III Championship in May.
The 2014 UMAC Champion, Crown College, will enter the Championship event looking to defend their title. The Storm finished as the top team at the UMAC Preview event, also held at Alexandria Golf Club, in September and return four all-conference performers from last year’s team to the championship field. The Storm lineup includes 2014 Individual Medalist Reed Sorensen.
In order to claim the 2015 title, the Storm will have to face a tough field of competitors as 10 strokes separated the top three teams at the Preview. The University of Northwestern finished just five strokes behind Crown at the Preview event and hope sto be in the mix for the title in Alexandria this weekend. The Eagles finished as the top team in a seven team field at the Northland College Invite earlier this season.
Bethany Lutheran College finished in third place at the UMAC Preview, just 10 strokes out of first place. The Vikings’ lineup includes Andrew Aukes who finished the in second place individually at the Preview shooting at 75 on the Par-72 course.
Anton Svensson of the University of Wisconsin-Superior earned individual medalist honors at the UMAC Preview carding at 74 at Alexandria Golf Club. Svensson led his team to a fourth place finish at the event and the YellowJackets hope to improve on that finish in their first-ever UMAC Championship event this weekend. Just last Saturday UW-Superior finished as the top team of eight at the Viking Invite hosted at Oakdale Golf Club.
Following UW-Superior and finishing in fifth place at the Preview event was the University of Minnesota Morris. The Cougars currently rank third in the UMAC team score category with an 18-hole team score season average of 326 and will look to finish improve on their finish from the Preview at this weekend’s conference championship.
Finishing just one stroke behind the Cougars at the Preview event was the College of St. Scholastica. The Saints, who are currently in their first season sponsoring men’s golf, finished in first place at a Triangular with fellow UMAC teams UW-Superior and Northland College earlier this season.
Northland closely followed the Saints at the Preview event behind the strong play of the Evan Lunda. Lunda currently owns the top 18-hole individual scoring average in the UMAC (74.3) and has earned medalist honors at four events this season.
Just two strokes separated the final two teams in the field at the Preview event. North Central University finished in eighth place and has high hopes of improving their team score at the Championship. In order to do so, the Rams will rely on the steady play of veteran Josh Hostetler.
Martin Luther College finished in the final spot at the Preview event, but has shown improvement since that time and is currently in sixth in the UMAC team rankings. The Knights line-up features 2014 All-Conference performer Josh Hansen. Hansen finished tied for third at the Preview and currently ranks fifth in the UMAC individual scoring averages.
The nine UMAC teams will tee off at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Alexandria Golf Club. The winner of the 2015 UMAC Men’s Golf Championship will represent the conference at the 2015 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship May 10-13, 2016 in Rochester, New York.