Crown's Messner, Northwestern duo highlight 2016 UMAC men's golf honors
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2016 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's golf season couldn't have been more exciting leading up to the conference tournament and the action that followed was just as exciting. Despite going winless in tournaments leading up to the UMAC Championship, the University of Northwestern used its consistency from the fall to capture the conference title and now see the benefits earning two of the top three postseason awards announced Monday.
Junior Mac Saby shot an incredible 67 (-5) on the final day of play at the UMAC tournament to distance himself from the field and earn medalist honors, while Northwestern's leader Billy Aune garnered UMAC Coach of the Year as voted on my his peers. Crown College's senior Tom Messner was also recognized as the UMAC Player of the Year for his play throught the year and in the tournament. The UMAC honored 10 men with All-UMAC honors with the distinction given to the top eight finishers at the UMAC Championship plus two additional honorees as voted on by the conference coaches.
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Championship Site |
Championship Results |
Heading into the tournament, Saby owned the second-lowest average among UMAC men's players. It was his outstanding finish, though, that helped him lead the Eagles' to their first men's golf automatic qualifying bid tot he NCAA Championships. On the opening day of play, Saby was in a three-player tie for first with Josh Hansen of Martin Luther College and Kyle Och of the University of Minnesota Morris as the trio turned in rounds of 76 (+4).
The following day, in less-than-ideal conditions, Saby and Och both posted scores of 78 (+6) to remain tied atop the leaderboard. Finally, Saby broke through carding the lone score of the tournament below par with a 67 (-5) – the first UMAC round in the 60s at the UMAC Championship event based on available records. He ended the tournament with a total score of 221 (+5) and now boasts a UMAC-best scoring average of 75.1.
Saby and the Northwestern men's squad found great success this season both collectively and at the championship event. The Eagles led the UMAC with a scoring average of 317.4 strokes per round that was 10 better than that of the College of St. Scholastica. With the championship victory, the Eagles now boast a round-average of 307.1. Prior to Saturday, they also owned the lowest team round of the season at 299 (+15) from their opening dual win over North Central University. They also boast six of the top 10 team rounds this season.
At the UMAC championship, Northwestern started out with a 12-stroke lead over St. Scholastica behind a team score of 310 (+22). One day two, the Eagles were just one stroke better than the Saints with a round of 319 (+31) to remain slightly in the lead. The Eagles then recorded a UMAC-best round this season on Saturday with a 296 (+8) to finish the tournament with a score of 925 (+61) that was 35 strokes ahead of the Saints in second place.
After winning medalist honors a year ago, Messner of Crown was recognized by the coaches as the UMAC Player of the Year. Messner finished the season ranked fourth in scoring average at 77.3 strokes per round but ranked third heading into the three-day event. Messner held the previous low round of the season at 70 (-2) from the Bethany Lutheran College Viking Invite preceding the tournament to earn him UMAC Player of the Week accolades.
Messner's season was highlighted by two individual tournament wins, three top-five finishes and five top 10 finishes. The senior earned All-UMAC honors for the fourth time in his career following a ninth-place individual showing at the tournament Saturday. His final score of 239 (+23) helped the Storm finish fifth overall as a team. Messner recorded two rounds of 78 (+6) to add to his impressive Player of the Year resume.
Leading the remainder of the UMAC All-Conference honorees was Martin Luther's Hansen. The senior earned his fourth-straight All-UMAC honor following his fourth-place finish Saturday. Hansen recorded two rounds of 76 (+4) to round out his impressive career. Also notable was the 2015 UMAC Player of the Year Evan Lunda who earned the honor for the third-straight year. Lunda led the UMAC in scoring average heading into Thursday's round, collected two UMAC Player fot he Week awards, and finished with an eighth-place mark in the standings.
Caleb Johnson of Northwestern, Marc Peterson of St. Scholastica and Anton Svensson of the University of Wisconsin-Superior were all repeat winners of the All-UMAC distinction. Johnson scored the second-lowest round Saturday at 74 (+2) to slide into the runner-up position behind teammate Saby in just his second collegiate season. Junior Peterson was the top Saint finisher who posted a 233 (+17) to tie Hansen for fourth, while senior Svensson was seventh with a score of 234 (+18).
Nick Mahowald of Northwestern also placed in a tie for fourth with Hansen and Peterson after recording two rounds of 77 (+5) in his first UMAC Championship appearance.
Crown won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season, including the championship event. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
2016 Medalist - Mac Saby, Northwestern*
Player of the Year - Tom Messner, Crown**
Coach of the Year - Billy Aune, Northwestern
2016 UMAC Men's Golf All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Josh Hansen |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
Watertown, S.D. |
| Caleb Johnson |
Northwestern |
So. |
Ham Lake, Minn. |
| Evan Lunda |
Northland |
Sr. |
Balsam Lake, Wis. |
| Nick Mahowald |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Watertown, S.D. |
| Tom Messner** |
Crown |
Sr. |
Hamburg, Minn. |
| Kyle Och |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Sartell, Minn. |
| Marc Peterson |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Esko, Minn. |
| Mac Saby* |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Victoria, Minn. |
| Anton Svensson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Sodertalje, Sweden |
| Spencer Viita |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
Cook, Minn. |
2016 UMAC Men's Golf Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Crown
Bethany Lutheran - Eli Hallman, So., Alden, Minn.
Crown - Juan Marcos Cueva, Sr., Quito, Ecuador
Martin Luther - Josh Hansen, Sr., Watertown, S.D.
Minnesota Morris - Mike Campbell, Sr., Pembroke, Mass.
North Central - Hunter Costello, So, Tomah, Wis.
Northland - Mason Parker, So., Salon Springs, Wis.
Northwestern - Mac Saby, Jr., Victoria, Minn.
St. Scholastica - Kilen Eilefson, Jr., New Brighton, Minn.
Wisconsin-Superior - Owen Stauber, Sr., Hermantown, Minn.