Springfield, Ohio – The Wittenberg University men’s and women’s golf teams have enjoyed a steady rise toward the top of NCAA Division III in recent years, thanks in no small part to the hard work student-athletes have consistently put in during the summer months.
The Tigers have been at it again in 2013, with outstanding performances reported on the team’s Facebook page and Head Coach Jeff Roope’s Twitter feed almost weekly. With a little more than one month until the student-athletes return to campus, four members of the Tiger women’s golf team are set to participate in one of the most prestigious annual summer events as a final tune-up for the 2013-14 collegiate campaign.
Sophomores Allie Lawwill (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown) and Maggie Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore), junior Nicole Waers (Canton, Ohio/Perry) and senior Deanna Mychalishyn (Mason, Ohio/Mason) are entered in the Pure Silk Women’s Collegiate Team Championship, hosted by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) at Wedgewood Golf & Country Club in Powell, Ohio, July 23-25. Lawwill is paired with Smith and Waers is paired with Mychalishyn in the team competition, which annually includes many of the best collegiate players in the nation across all divisions of the NCAA and NAIA.
While Wittenberg will be well represented on the course in the Pure Silk Women’s Collegiate Team Championship, the Tigers have other important connections to the event. Roope was recently re-elected to a second term on the WGCA Board of Directors, so he will be on hand as both a coach and a tournament administrator. In addition, Pure Silk is a product made and distributed in Central Ohio by Perio, Inc., with Wittenberg Board of Directors member Thomas Murray serving as President and CEO. Former Tiger standout Jordan Millice, Wittenberg class of 2012, works for Perio, Inc., and is expected to be working at the event.
“We’ve got a special group of young people who are self-motivated and thrive on trying to be the best they can be,” said Roope, who has earned four straight NCAC Coach of the Year awards and was named the 2013 WGCA Great Lakes Coach of the Year. “I'm pretty fortunate to have such a dedicated group of women and men.”
Earlier this summer, Lawwill and Mychalishyn performed well in the Cincinnati Metropolitan Women’s Amateur Championship, while juniors Savannah Fox (Massillon, Ohio/Perry) and Carolyn Wong (Naperville, Ill./Central) won their flights at the Ohio and Illinois State Amateur tournaments, respectively.
On the men’s side, Roope has been very busy reporting outstanding results, including juniors John Chaney (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) and Alex Andrews (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) making the cut in the Ohio Open and freshman Mark David Wright (Westerville, Ohio/Tree of Life) winning at the Golfweek-Northstar. Senior David Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) finished one stroke off the match play cut line at the prestigious North South Amateur, while Andrews, Chaney, sophomore Sam Geise (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro), senior Ben Hogenkamp (Minster, Ohio/Minster) and junior Jared Wissinger (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) all did well at the Ohio Amateur. Andrews, Geise and Chaney all broke par to advance to the finals on July 12, with Andrews ending up 11th in the large field.
The good news doesn’t stop there, however. Andrews was the lone NCAA Division III player in the field at the Sunnehanna Amateur, and his top-15 finish at the Ohio Amateur earned him an exemption into the field for 2014. Wissinger placed sixth in a strong field at the Mid-Ohio Invitational, freshman Sam Stilwell (Sterling, Va./Dominion) placed in the top 20 at the Bubba Conlee Invitational, freshman Garrett Brickley (Pickerington, Ohio/North) is on the leaderboard at the AJGA Columbus, and even assistant coach Andy Bonar, Wittenberg class of 2005, has gotten in the act, tying for the third round lead at the Springfield City Amateur.
Written By: Ryan Maurer