Cougars' Raph headlines 2021 UMAC men's golf awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2021 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men's Golf Championship saw a new champion for the first time since 2017 with Bethany Lutheran College capturing its first title since 2013 with a six-stroke victory Saturday. The Vikings headline the all-conference list with four First Team selections, while medalist Brady Raph of the University of Minnesota Morris was tabbed Player of the Year, it was announced Monday.
In addition to Raph and the Vikings' accolades, North Central University owned the Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year nods with Tucker Crowson taking the first and Lon Flippo earning the latter. The Rams put together a third-round performance to jump from fourth to second Saturday at the UMAC Championship.
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Championship Site |
Championship Results |
The Vikings had three players finish in the eight performers at the tournament with one additional selection via the coaches' votes to headline the 10-player First Team list and five-player Honorable Mention list. The Vikings' carded a 301 (+13) opening day round to set the pace for the tournament. Gabe Stoesz earned All-UMAC First Team for the second-straight UMAC tournament, while Vlad Nitardy earned honors for the second time in his career. Nick Hansen and Noah Fick were the Vikings' two other selections.
While the Vikings' headlined the team honors, sophomore Raph crushed the individual awards. After shooting a round of 78 (+6) on the opening day, Raph sat in 11th place. He turned around Friday to shoot 74 (+2) on the second day to jump to third place. In Saturday's final round, Raph carded a tournament-low round of 70 (-2) to finish with a three-day total of 222 (+6) to win the tournament by one stroke and earn the medalist spot.
Throughout the season, Raph was nearly unstoppable. He started off the season winning the UMAC Preview event with an identical score of 70 (-2) at Pebble Creek. He then proceeded to win four more medalist honors. Raph averaged 76.0 strokes per round enterning the tournament and shot the second-lowest individual round of the season witha 68 (-3) to win the North Central Invite on Sept. 22.
Though the Rams came up just short of the conference title, Flippo's squad compiled an impressive season throughout the fall. The Rams won the UMAC Preview in September for the first time since 2011 to set the tone for the rest of their fall. In back-to-back rounds at the Waldorf Invite, the Rams shot a program-record low round of 290 (+2) before recording a 290 (+6) the following day. The Rams own five of the top team-low rounds this fall including a 306 (+18) on the final day of the UMAC Championship that helped catapult them into second. In 15 rounds this fall, the Rams led the UMAC with a round average of 311.5 strokes per round.
One of the keys to the Rams success this fall was rookie Tucker Crowson. The first-year started off his career placing second at the UMAC Preview with a round of 74 (+2). He entered the UMAC Championship with the lowest round average among all first-year players (78.4). Crowson also had two top-five finishes and five top 10 finishes during the fall.
The UMAC all-conference list was headlined by seven players who earned honors on either team for at least the second time in their careers. Sam Albrecht of the University of Wisconsin-Superior was the lone individual honored for a third time. In addition to Nitardy and Stoesz of Bethany Lutheran, the remaining two-time honorees included Jackson Nyhus (University of Northwestern), Raph, Jacob Sweeney (North Central) and Isaac Wright (North Central).
Martin Luther 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.
2021 Medalist* - Brady Raph, So., Minnesota Morris
Player of the Year^ - Brady Raph, So., Minnesota Morris
Rookie of the Year# - Tucker Crowson, Fy., North Central
Coach of the Year - Lon Flippo, North Central
2021 UMAC Men's Golf All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Taylor Burger |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Noah Fick |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Sioux Falls, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran |
| Nick Hansen |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Watertown, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran |
| Ben Long |
North Central |
Fy. |
Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian |
| Vladimir Nitardy |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Fort Atkinson, Wis./Luther Prep |
| Jackson Nyhus |
Northwestern |
So. |
Henning, Minn./Henning |
| Brady Raph |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Pine River, Minn./Pine River-Backus |
| Cody Stanisich |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Eveleth, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Gabe Stoesz |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Waseca, Minn./Waseca |
| Jacob Sweeney |
North Central |
So. |
Madera, Calif./Liberty |
2021 UMAC Men's Golf All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Sam Albrecht |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Gilbert, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert |
| Tucker Crowson |
North Central |
Fy. |
Phenix City, Ala./Central |
| Max Wilcox |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Danville, Iowa/Danville |
| Titus Wookey |
Crown |
Fy. |
Laramie, Wy./Laramie |
| Isaac Wright |
North Central |
Jr. |
Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca |
2021 UMAC Men's Golf Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Martin Luther
Bethany Lutheran - Noah Fick, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran
Crown - Lane Thomas, Jr., St. Bonifacius, Minn./Ontario
Martin Luther - Micah Otto, Jr., Mequon, Wis./Luther Prep
Minnesota Morris - Jack Golla, Jr., Luverne, Minn./Luverne
North Central - Isaac Wright, Jr., Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca
Northland - Cole Woodliffe, Sr., Vernon, British Columbia
Northwestern - AJ Watland, Jr., Andover, Minn./AFLBS
Wisconsin-Superior - Sam Albrecht, Sr., Gilbert, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert