OBERLIN, Ohio - The entire North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) has been chasing NCAA Division III powerhouse men's golf programs Ohio Wesleyan and Allegheny for years. The Wittenberg Tigers have regularly nipped at their heels over the last decade, but perhaps they made a statement with a second-place finish in the Oberlin Fall Invitational.
The competition was the second of five in the 2008-09 NCAC Championship Series, and it included only the eight conference schools fielding complete teams (ironically, it was Oberlin that had just one individual in the event). After finishing just two strokes behind Allegheny in the 14-team Denison Fall Invitational earlier in the fall season, Wittenberg squeaked past the Gators by one stroke at Oberlin, setting the stage for an interesting battle for runner-up honors when the spring tournaments commence.
Led by a fourth-place finish from freshman Ricky Boerner (Hilliard, Ohio/Watterson), who shot a two-day total of 147, the Tigers posted a team score of 607, one ahead of Allegheny but still 26 strokes back of Ohio Wesleyan, which had the top three individual finishers in the field.
The pleasant surprise of the weekend for the Tigers was the play of sophomorePatrick Beausejour (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier), who carded matching 76s to finish with a 152. He was followed by freshman Ben Smith (North Bend, Ohio/Elder) with a 153, senior Jeff Hochstetler (Plain City, Ohio/Jonathan Alder)with a 158 and senior Chad Summe (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) with a 161.
Also over the weekend, Wittenberg sent individuals to compete in the Capital Fall Invitational. Freshman Jordan Millice (Cable, Ohio/Triad) had a tremendous performance in the one-day, 27-hole event, carding a 74 and then a front-nine 34 to shoot 108 and finish in sole possession of second place. Freshman Brian Rolland (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington ) was outstanding as well with a 114, good for seventh place. Junior Steve Nevius (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee)rounded things out for the Tigers with a 120, good for 21st place.