SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers headed into the final round of the 2015 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship Series with a 12-stroke lead but felt anything but comfortable.
After blistering historic Springfield Country Club for a final round team score of 282, the Tigers were all smiles - and plenty comfortable. The phenomenal conclusion to the four-round competition earned Wittenberg its sixth consecutive NCAC title and automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament, which takes place May 12-15 at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, NC.
Wittenberg finished with a two-round total of 574 to win the NCAC Championship Series #2, a week after taking NCAC Championship Series #1 by 10 strokes over host Kenyon at Apple Valley Golf Club. Over the four rounds of the league championships, Wittenberg finished with a score of 1162, just 10 strokes over par.
Kenyon finished second, 24 strokes off the pace set by Wittenberg. Allegheny took the third spot, 43 strokes behind the Tigers.
Fittingly, seniors Alex Andrews (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) and John Chaney (Gates Mills, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) walked off the course with matching two-day totals of 141 to claim medalist honors in NCAC Championship Series #2. Sophomore Sam Stilwell (Sterling, Va./Dominion) and senior Jared Wissinger (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) tied for seventh with matching scores of 146, and junior Sam Geise (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) rounded things out with a 148, good for 11th place.
Chaney earned the 2015 Bob Nye Award, given annually to the overall NCAC championship medalist after he accumulated 285 total strokes, which bettered par by three strokes. Andrews, who earned the 2015 Dick Gordin Award as the league's Player of the Year for a second time in his collegiate career, was second in the championship series with a four-round total of 292.
That score was matched by Stilwell, while Wissinger placed sixth with 296 strokes and Geise took seventh in the 45-player field with a score of 298.
The NCAC title gives Wittenberg plenty of momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament. Ranked seventh in the most recent GolfStat statistical rankings, the Tigers will attempt to better their fifth-place finish from a year ago.
Written By: Ryan Maurer