Springfield, Ohio – For the fifth straight year and the 21st time in program history, the Wittenberg University men’s golf team has earned the opportunity to compete in an NCAA Tournament. The Tigers, ranked No. 4 nationally, will compete for the 2014 NCAA Division III title May 13-16 at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C.
The tournament, hosted by Guilford College, will include 41 teams and a total of 210 competitors. The Tigers were one of 31 teams to qualify automatically after winning the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship for the sixth time overall and fifth straight year.
The national tournament berth is Wittenberg’s 20th as a member of NCAA Division III and 21st overall, including the program’s first-ever national bid in 1974 as a member of the College Division. A year ago, the Tigers finished 13th in the nation at the 2013 NCAA Division III Tournament, hosted by Methodist University at the Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort in Destin, Fla.
The Tigers have nine national top-10 finishes in program history. The best result came in 1990, when four-time All-American Rick Lyons led the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at Jekyll Island Golf Club in Jekyll Island, Ga. Wittenberg’s best finish under the direction of current Head Coach Jeff Roope is sixth, achieved in 2010 at Hershey Links & Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pa.
Wittenberg has finished first in seven of its 11 tournaments in the 2013-14 season, including wins at the prestigious Gordin Classic and the DePauw Small College Classic in the fall and five first-place trophies in six spring starts. The Tigers have taken the top spot in tournaments hosted by Huntingdon, Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, DePauw and Wabash during the spring season, with the final two tourney titles earning the Tigers their fifth consecutive victory in the NCAC Championship Series.
The Tigers head into the national competition ranked fifth nationally in average team score. In 24 rounds, Wittenberg has posted an impressive average score of 74.67.
Junior John Chaney (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) leads the Tigers individually with a 73.83 stroke average, which ranks 11th nationally. He has won one tournament during the 2013-14 season and recorded five top-five finishes, and he capped his season with a second-place finish in the NCAC Championship Series.
Senior Ben Hogenkamp (Minster, Ohio/Minster) has been outstanding as well in 2013-14, playing every round for a second straight year. He carries a stroke average of 73.88 and plenty of momentum into the national competition after he captured the NCAC’s Bob Nye Award, given annually to the medalist of the four-round NCAC Championship Series. Hogenkamp has five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in 11 tournaments in 2013-14.
Head Coach Jeff Roope, now in his seventh season leading the Red & White, earned his fifth straight NCAC Coach of the Year award. He added his first NCAC Women’s Golf Coach of the Year award as well.
Written By: Ryan Maurer