NORMAN, Okla. – Defending Division III champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps earned 14 of 19 first-place votes to top the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll.  

Methodist ranked second with one first-place vote. Huntingdon appeared on two first-place ballots and was No. 3. Fourth-ranked Oglethorpe also tallied a first-place vote. 

Wittenberg was No. 5 and followed by St. Thomas (MN), Rhodes, Washington & Lee, Otterbein and Berry. 

The Wittenberg Tigers ranked among the best in the nation throughout the 2015-16 season. Along the way, the Tigers exemplified the concept of team, finishing a tremendously successful campaign without an individual victory in a tournament.

That teamwork was on display once again in the NCAA Division III Tournament as Wittenberg finished in third place for a second straight year. The Tigers carded a final round score of 311 to end up at 1,208 overall, 10 strokes behind national champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and four back of Huntingdon.

Wittenberg finished in a tie with Washington & Lee and three strokes ahead of 2015 national champion Methodist.

The third-place finish matches the best in program history, which includes 23 NCAA Tournament appearances (22 as a member of NCAA Division III). The Tigers have reached the national competition seven straight years, making the cut to finish in the top 15 in six of those appearances.

Wittenberg's campagin opens up at the Transylvania Invitational on September 3 at the University of Kentucky Big Blue Course in Lexington, Kentucky. 

Full Golfweek release HERE.