Top teams set to battle for UMAC Men's Golf Championship beginning Thursday

10/5/2016 1:58:19 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn.---After a solid season of competition with multiple squads finding tournament success this fall, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's golf teams are set to face off for three days of tough compeittion with an NCAA automatic qualifying tournament berth on the line beginning Thursday at the UMAC Men's Golf Championships at the Alexandria Golf Club in Alexandria, Minn.

| Championships Site | Team Previews | Men's Golf Statistics |
* Video courtesy of Wisconsin-Superior Sports Information

Two-time defending champion Crown College will be in the mix for its third-straight conference title after another impressive fall, but the UMAC crown will be up for grabs with five other teams turning in fall performances that could land any one of the them in the top spot at the end fo the day Saturday.

Last year, Crown won the tournament by a margin of 16 strokes over the University of Northwestern with a score of 920 (+56) over the three-day battle. This season, Crown ranks just fifth in scoring average (324.6) but is just off conference leader Northwestern (306.6) by 18 strokes.

Heading into the tournament, the Eagles hold just above a 10-stroke average lead over the College of St. Scholastica at 317.4. Northland College has been a Cinderella story and ranks third this season at 320.3, while the University of Wisconsin-Superior is just one stroke off with a score of 320.3. Martin Luther College has the potential to threaten for the title as well with a sixth-best average of 329.7 that is just over five strokes from Crown.

The men's side showed its parity this season at the UMAC Preview – hosted at the Championship course in Alexandria – as just 19 strokes separated the top four squads. Second-year surprise St. Scholastica rode the solid play of rookie Jason Peterson to capture the team title with a score of 303 (+15). Peterson earned medalist honors with a one-under par round of 71.

The Saints locked up the win, but Wisconsin-Superior was just six strokes back with a round of 309 (+21). Northwestern followed closely with a score of 313 (+25) for third and Northland took fourth with a score of 322 (+34). Bethany Lutheran College – which placed third a year ago – showed potential to be in contention for a title with a fifth-place score of 330 (+42).

The UMAC Championship promises to be a tournament that should come down to the wire with each team finding success at different times throughout the season. St. Scholastica started out the season with team wins at the Twin Ports Collegiate hosted in conjunction with Wisconsin-Superior before taking the UMAC Preview event. Northland then showed the hot hand winning the Northwestern Invite and a dual meet with Finlandia University – setting a school record in the process.

St. Scholastica took second at the University of Minnesota Morris Cougar Invite and was the top UMAC finisher. Crown hit its stride in the final two competitions featuring UMAC teams winning both the North Central University Invite and the Bethany Lutheran Viking Invite.

Leading the way individually for defending champion Crown is Tom Messner who earned medalist honors at the 2015 conference tournament. The senior owns the lowest round by a UMAC player this season with a 70 (-2) which earned him first place at the Viking Invite Saturday and UMAC Player of the Week honors. The Storm will also need a big three days of golf from sophomore Austin Coyne who owns a 79.3 stroke average and Juan Marcos Cueva who is an experience senior boasting an average of 84.3.

Top-ranked in 2016, Northwestern should be in the conversation for the UMAC title behind the solid play of Mac Saby. The junior boasts the second-best average this season with an averge of 75.6 after greatly improving from a year ago. Sophomore Michael Vowels ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 76.3 and tied for the team's top finish a year ago. Fellow sophomore Caleb Johnson is just behind Vowels with an average of 77.8 and tied Vowels at last year's Championship event.

St. Scholastica enters the tournament with great potential for a title after dramatic improvement from its debut season in 2015. As a team, the Saints have turned in five rounds that are better than the best round from last season. Rookie Spencer Viita has been the team's most consistent player ranking eigth overall in stroke average (78.1) in the UMAC. Marc Peterson – the team's top finisher in 2015 – boasts and average of 79.0 which rookie Jason Peterson is just above that at 80.2 strokes per round.

Northland has the potential to win a title after placing dead last in ninth at last year's conference tournament. Led by 2015 UMAC Player of the year Evan Lunda, the Lumberjacks have set program records all season and are third-best in scoring average. Lunda won back-to-back UMAC Player of the Week honors which included his low round of 71 (-1) as medalist at the Lake Superior Cup. The senior also owns the lowest average at 75.2 among all players.

Wisconsin-Superior shouldn't be counted out as the Yellowjackets have been in contention for wins at each tournmaent they've competed in finishing in the top five at each one except for one. Junior Anton Svensson ranks ninth in the UMAC for average at 78.5 strokes per round while first-year Tyler Smith rounds out the top 10 with 78.7 strokes per round.

Martin Luther would need an extraordinary three days to take the title, but could see an individual winner in Josh Hansen. The senior has been an All-UMAC finisher in each of his three seasons as a Knight and was the UMAC Championship runner up in 2013 and last season in 2015. This year, Hansen is third among all players with an average of 76.0.

Bethany Lutheran ranks seventh in the UMAC as a team with an average of 331.1 that is just over a stroke off of Martin Luther's average. Sophomore Sam Havnen is just outside the UMAC top 10 as an individual with a scoring average of 80.6. Three sophomores lead the Vikings in scoring and bring experience to the Championships this year.

Minnesota Morris enters the tournament with an average of 338.8 and are led by sophomore Kyle Och who boasts an average of 79.8. Senior Mike Campbell brings a wealth of experience and an average of 81.8. North Central rounds out the league with a team average of 363.8 and top golfer Hunter Costello owns an average of 86.8.

The conference tournament is set to tee off Thursday at 11 a.m. in Alexandria. Both men and women will begin at the same time with women starting on the front nine and men on the back nine. All tournament informaiton can be found on the UMAC Championships site including tee times, live scoring information and course information.

Team Previews
| BLC | CC | CSS | MLC | NC | NCU | UMM | UNW | UWS |

Bethany Lutheran College
Daniel Mundahl | 6th Season |

2015 Championships
| 3rd | 947 (+83) |

Players to Watch
- Sam Havnen, So. | 2015 Championships: t-22nd, 244 (+28), 4th team finisher | 2016 Avg.: 80.6 |
- Jordan Petzel, So. | 2015 Championships: t-12th, 237 (+21), 3rd team finisher | 2016 Avg.: 82.6 |
- Daniel Gutzmer, So. | 2015 Championships: 36th, 258 (+42), 5th team finisher | 2016 Avg.: 83.9 |

Need to Know
- Bethany opened the 2016 season winning the Wittenberg Cup with a team score of 326 (+42).
- The Vikings Strength of Schedule has greatly improved this season with a several Regional meets on the schedule.
- At the Buena Vista Invite, Daniel Gutzmer finished the challenging Par 72 tied for 2nd overall with a 75 (+3).
- The Vikings complete 2016 roster includes one freshman and six sophomores.

Crown College
Mike Gmetro | 4th Season |

2015 Championships
1st | 920 (+56)|
Postseason: Competed at the NCAA Championships in Rochester, N.Y.

Players to Watch
- Tom Messner, Sr. | All-UMAC, 2013, 2014, 2015; 2015 UMAC medalist | 2015 Championships: 1st, 221 (+5), 1st team finisher | 2016 Avg.: 76.2 |
- Austin Coyne, So. | 2015 Championships: t-14th, 238 (+22), t-3rd team finisher | 2016 Avg.: 79.3 |
- Juan Marcos Cueva, Sr. | 2015 Championships: t-14th, 238 (+22), t-3rd team finisher | 2016 Avg.: 84.3 |

Need to Know
- Crown College had a successful year in 2015 winning the conference championship for the second consecutive year.
- Crown returns four starters from the championship team, but they suffered a large loss in graduating senior Reed Sorensen.
- The team will hope to rely on veteran leadership in 2016.

Martin Luther College
Larry Lotito | 11th season |

2015 Championships
| 2015 Finish | 5th |

Golfers returning: 5
Golfers lost: # 0

Players to Watch
- Josh Hansen, Sr. | All-UMAC 2013, 2014, 2015 | 2015 Championships: 2nd, 222 (+6), 1st team finisher | 2016 Avg: 76.0 |
- Alex Lindemann, Jr. | 2015 Championships: t-19th, 242 (+26), 2nd team finisher | 2016 Avg.: 83.6 |
- Raine Vrable, Jr. | 2015 Championships: t-22nd, 244 (+28), 3rd team finisher | 2016 Avg.: 83.7 |

Need to Know
- Josh Hansen has earned All-UMAC honors in each of his first three seasons. He earned the honor at MLC in 2013 and 2015 with second place finishes, and also finished eighth while a member of the Bethany Lutheran team in 2014.
- Hansen tied for the low round of the UMAC Championships last season with a 71 on the final day.
- Six MLC golfers have shot rounds of 82 or lower at competitions this fall season.

University of Minnesota Morris
Mark Fohl | 17th season |

2015 Championships
| 6th | 970 (+106) |

Players to Watch
- Kyle Och, So. | 2015 Championships: 18th, 241 (+25), 2nd team finisher | 2016 Rd. Avg.: 79.8 |
- Mike Campbell, Sr. | 2015 Championships: t-34th, 256 (+40), 5th team finishe r| 2016 Rd. Avg.: 81.8 |
- John Geiger, Sr. | 2016 Rd. Avg.: 82.7 |

Need to Know
- Kyle Och has the Cougars two lowest rounds of the year, including a 74 to win medalist honors at the Southwest Invite.
- Tayler Vetsch (Jr.) can provide a quality fourth option as his low round of the season is 79.
- Four different golfers have at least one top ten finish.

University of Wisconsin-Superior
Paul Eberhardt | 2nd season |

2015 Championships
| 4th | Score: 956 (+92) |

Players to Watch
- Anton Svensson, Sr.| 2015 All-UMAC | 2015 Championships: 6th, 232 (+16), 1st team finisher | 2016 Avg: 78.4 |
- Tyler Smith, Fy. | 2016 Avg: 78.6 |
- Joey Cummings, Fy. | 2016 Avg: 81.7 |

Need to Know
- Svensson has four top-ten finishes and Smith three while each has a pair of top-five finishes for UWS
- Cummings has one top-five finish on the season, while senior Matthew McCoshen has one top-ten finish
- Yellowjackets have finished in the top-five in all but one meet and placed second at September’s UMAC Preview

Schedule

Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

Conference Members

Conference Members

Top teams set to battle for UMAC Men's Golf Championship beginning Thursday