JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. – The Wittenberg Tigers made their first trip to the West Coast in recent memory a productive one with a third-place finish in the West Cup, hosted by the University of La Verne at Goose Creek Golf Club.
The Tigers carded a three-round total of 886 to pull into a three-way tie for third position in the 15-team field. Wittenberg started out in eighth place, moved up to sixth after the second round and then posted the third-best score of the final round to equal the team scores of Whitworth and Redlands. La Verne and Claremont Mudd Scripps tied for the top spot at 880.
The clubhouse leader for the Tigers was junior David Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), who parlayed consistency into a tie for 14th place in the final individual standings. Wetterich carded rounds of 74, 74 and 71, with the latter round coming on a day that featured extremely challenging pin placements that yielded a mere five sub-par scores. His third round score moved Wetterich up 14 spots in the standings.
Sophomore Alex Andrews (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) was next for the Tigers with a score of 222 to finish 22nd. He was followed by junior Jack Uecker (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary) in 32nd with a score of 225, junior Ben Hogenkamp (Minster, Ohio/Minster) in 37th with a score of 226, and sophomore John Chaney (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) in 51st with a score of 229. A total of 88 players were entered in the field.
"I am thrilled that we were able to climb the leaderboard on Day 2," said Wittenberg Head Coach Jeff Roope. "We were sharp mentally for the most part, allowing us to make up for any shortcomings we may have had because of the weather-related lack of reps. It was a nice way to kick off the spring."