Men's Golf Wins Wynlakes Intercollegiate

Men's Golf Wins Wynlakes Intercollegiate

MONTGOMERY, Alabama—Wittenberg men's golf overcame a six-stroke deficit to win the Wynlakes Intercollegiate on Tuesday, as the Tigers trailed Emory and Huntingdon College going into round two. After firing a team score of 299 in round one, Wittenberg found themselves behind Emory (296) and Huntingdon (293) heading into the final round of play. Wittenberg blew past the competition with a team score of 291 (+3) in round two, as Huntingdon dropped to second with a 301 (+13) and Emory to third at with a 302 (+22).

Wittenberg won the tournament by four-strokes with a two-day total of 590, as Huntingdon carded a 594, followed by Emory's 598, Rhodes' 608 and Huntingdon's "B" squad's 611. The Tigers comeback performance was spearheaded by junior Colin Laszlo's hot start on Tuesday.

Laszlo started the day with a par, before carding three consecutive birdies. The Hawaii native found himself five-under through the first eight holes, and would remain five-under, and atop the individual leaderboard through the first 12 holes. Laszlo gave two-strokes back on hole's 14 and 15, but managed to finish his stellar day T3 at three-under for the tournament. The junior's top finish featured an opening round of 75, followed by Tuesday's round of 69 for a two-day total of 144 (E). Drew Mathers' of Huntingdon earned medalist honors at two-under.

After an opening round of 73, Cameron Willis stayed the course with another round of 73 on Tuesday, as the sophomore finished T6 with a two-day score of 144 (+2). The 6,979-yard Par 72 Wynlakes Country Club Course also saw Cooper Taylor finish in the top-20 for Wittenberg, as Taylor carded rounds of 78 and 71 for a two-day score of 149 (+5). Starting the day T14 was Ryan Mallette, as the sophomore finished T20 for Wittenberg after a second round 78 (+6).

The Tigers fended off Huntingdon a year ago to win the program's first Division III National Championship, as the Tigers managed to complete the feat yet again on Tuesday. Wittenberg, the #19 team in the country, fought off #2 Huntingdon, #6 Emory, #15 Greensboro, and #17 Rhodes to win the Wynlakes Intercollegiate. The Tigers first place finish is their third of the year, as the fall season saw the defending National Champions win the Allegheny Fall Invitational, and the North Coast Athletic Conference Preview.

Wittenberg now awaits the 2018 NCAA Division III Match Play Invitational on April 6-7 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina.