Tigers Place 13th In 2013 NCAA Division III Championships

Wittenberg struggles on final day but still finishes 13th in the nation.

Ben Hogenkamp was Wittenberg's top finisher on Day 4 of the 2013 NCAA Division III Championships. File Photo | John Bell
Ben Hogenkamp was Wittenberg's top finisher on Day 4 of the 2013 NCAA Division III Championships. File Photo | John Bell
May 17, 2013
Results

DESTIN, Fla. – It wasn't the finish that the Wittenberg Tigers had envisioned – not after rallying to narrowly make the cut on Day 2 and shooting five spots up the leaderboard on Day 3. Still, placing 13th in all of NCAA Division III at the 2013 Men's Golf Championship is something to be very proud of, and Head Coach Jeff Roope is certain that his student-athletes will reflect positively on the achievement in time.

"Once we step back and realize all we've accomplished, we will be proud of this season," said Roope, whose team won six tournaments during the 2012-13 season, including both events of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship Series. "Being so close to the disappointment of what could have been makes it tough to see that right now.

"We were just in a bad place today and couldn't dig our way out."

Wittenberg shot a fourth-round team score of 309 to fall from eighth place at the start of the day to 13th in the final standings. The Tigers' four-day total of 1,212 wound up 45 strokes behind national champion Texas-Tyler, which topped Transylvania by seven strokes to claim the coveted Walnut & Bronze NCAA Championship trophy.

Junior Ben Hogenkamp (Minster, Ohio/Minster) led the Tigers on the challenging Raven course at the Sandestin Beach and Golf Resort, which was playing par-71, 6,854 yards during the week. He carded a 75 to cap a week of tremendous consistency en route to a four-round score of 298. He placed 22nd in the final individual standings.

Hogenkamp's overall score was matched by junior David Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle). The 2012 second-team All-American finished with a 78 on Day 4 to finish with a 298 and tie for 22nd place.

Next up for the Tigers was freshman Sam Geise (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro), who finished 59th with a score of 311 after a final-round 76. Sophomore Alex Andrews (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) added an 81 to place 68th with a score of 314, and senior Craig Osterbrock (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) rounded things out with an 80 on Friday to place 72nd with a score of 317.