Wittenberg Golfers Excel At Winter Tournaments
Five Tigers prepare for spring season with strong finishes at tournaments during the winter break.
Springfield, Ohio – After the Wittenberg University men’s golf team rose to No. 1 in the NCAA Division III rankings during the fall portion of the 2013-14 season, the student-athletes involved in the program hardly could have been blamed for taking some time off.
Much the opposite has taken place. At a time when most college students were celebrating the holiday season with family and friends, five Tiger golfers competed in two different tournaments in Arizona during Wittenberg annual break between the first and second semesters.
Junior Alex Andrews (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) was entered in the Patriot All-America Invitational, a 54-hole amateur event featuring 83 collegiate All-Americans from the previous season, Dec. 27-31 at the Wigwam Golf Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Andrews placed 45th with a 14-over-par score of 224 after shooting rounds of 78, 72 and 74.
“The experience was unbelievable,” said Andrews, who was the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Player of the Year. “It was truly an honor to represent my university and a fallen soldier during the tournament.”
Every player entered in the Patriot All-America Invitational is assigned a fallen or disabled United States military hero. At the tournament’s opening ceremony, each player received a golf bag donated by PING and embroidered with the fallen warrior’s name, which Andrews described as one of the highlights of the experience.
Senior David Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), junior John Chaney (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Gilmour Academy), sophomore Sam Geise (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) and freshman Sam Stilwell (Sterling, Va./Dominion) competed in the Saguaro Amateur Jan. 2-5 at Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz. The field included 107 of the top college players from all divisions of NCAA and every corner of the country.
Chaney was Wittenberg’s top finisher in the tournament, carding rounds of 77, 65 and 74 to finish just three strokes over par with a three-round total of 216. His second-round 65 was his personal best in tournament play and was tied for the second-best round by any player in the competition.
“I wanted to test my game in January, at a time when I am unable to practice frequently,” Chaney said. “The experience was very rewarding for my confidence. I was unsure how my game would react, with little time to prepare and practice outdoors in the leading weeks.
“The best part of the experience was leaving with more confidence about the strength and durability of my game, and I’m looking forward to testing it this spring.”
Also at the Saguaro, Wetterich placed 84th with a score of 231, Stilwell checked in 89th at 234 and Geise finished 100th with a 241.
Head Coach Jeff Roope has led the Tigers to NCAC championships and NCAA Division III Tournament finishes of 21st or better in each of the last four years. He is pleased that the student-athletes in his program are always working to get better on the course and in the classroom, where they compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.18 during the first semester of the 2013-14 school year.
“These guys work hard during the season, but the work they do during the summer and during the break between the fall and spring periods is what makes them a successful group,” said Roope, who has earned NCAC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year honors each of the last four years. “Their willingness to go the extra mile to get better isn’t going unnoticed. Recruits and alumni both are taking notice, too, leading many to either want to be a Tiger or support the Tigers.”
Coming off a season that ended with a 13th-place finish in the 2013 NCAA Division III Tournament, Wittenberg placed in the top three in all five fall tournaments. The Tigers capped the first half of the 2013-14 season with a come-from-behind victory at the prestigious Gordin Classic at Columbus Country Club and a 27-stroke victory at the DePauw Small College Classic.
The Tigers will resume competition March 10-11 at the Taylor-Made Adidas Intercollegiate at Cotton Dike Course in Dataw Island, SC.
Written By: Ryan Maurer