CHESTERLAND, Ohio — For the second year in a row, the Wittenberg Tigers put an exclamation point on a record-breaking season with a clutch performance in the five-round North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship Series. Spread over two weeks and two courses, the Series ended with the Tigers standing tall, trophy in hand, after winning both the Nye Intercollegiate at Wooster and the Hiram Invitational.
The cumulative 29-stroke victory earned the Tigers their second straight NCAA Division III Tournament berth after placing sixth in the 2010 event. The 2011 championship will be hosted by Guilford College at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, NC, May 10-13.
The Tigers posted a three-round score of 893 at Fowler's Mill Golf Club in Chesterland, Ohio, to easily outdistance Ohio Wesleyan, which finished second at 911. For the five rounds, Wittenberg posted a score of 1,497, compared to 1,526 for the Battling Bishops. Denison finished third, Allegheny fourth and Wooster fifth in the nine-team field.
Head Coach Jeff Roope earned NCAC Men's Golf Coach of the Year honors for a second straight year after he watched sophomore Craig Osterbrock (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) battle freshman Ben Hogenkamp (Minster, Ohio/Minster) for the Bob Nye Award, given annually to the NCAC Medalist. Osterbrock won a one-hole playoff to claim the honor.
For the weekend, Osterbrock won the Hiram Invitational with a three-round total of 218 after carding stellar, consistent rounds of 71, 75 and 72. Hogenkamp finished in a third-place tie with freshman David Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) with matching scores of 225 and junior Jordan Millice (Cable, Ohio/Triad) rounded out the Tigers' top finishers with in 10th place with a 231.