Tigers Capture Fifth Straight NCAC Championship
Wittenberg wins seventh title of 2013-14 season at Wabash, earns NCAC's automatic bid to NCAA Division III Tournament by winning Championship Series.
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. - The Wittenberg Tigers continued to show nearly flawless late-season form, capturing their seventh tournament title of the 2013-14 season with a 15-stroke win in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship Series #2, hosted by Wabash.
Coupled with the Tigers' 15-stroke win at NCAC Championship #1 a week earlier, Wittenberg dominated the nine-team field to capture its fifth consecutive league title. The Tigers played four rounds of golf over two weeks - two at Twin Bridges Golf Club and two at Crawforsdville Country Club - in 1,175 collective strokes. Kenyon took second place with 1,221, leading a tightly packed bunch for runner-up honors as just eight strokes separated second from sixth place.
2014 NCAC Championship Series Final Standings
With the NCAC Championship Series title comes the league's automatic berth in the 2014 NCAA Division III Tournament, which will be hosted by Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., May 13-16. Wittenberg will make its fifth straight national tournament appearance and the 21st in program history.
Wittenberg carded rounds of 283 and 285 to post a total score of 568 in the NCAC Championship Series #2. Kenyon finished second with 583, followed by DePauw at 589.
Junior John Chaney (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) led the Tigers with a two-round total of 140 to finish third. He was followed by senior Ben Hogenkamp (Minster, Ohio/Minster) at 142 in fifth place, sophomore Sam Geise (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) at 145 in eighth, senior David Wetterich (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) at 146 in 11th and junior Jared Wissinger (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) at 147 in 13th.
Hogenkamp's consistency over the course of two weeks earned him medalist honors in the NCAC Championship Series, signified by the league's Bob Nye Award. He closed with a one-under-par 69 to finish with a 292 overall, just eight strokes over par.
Chaney was right on his heels, finishing at 294 to place second. Wetterich followed in fifth place with a 297, and Wissinger was the other Tiger to qualify for the final standings, checking in seventh place with a score of 299.
Hogenkamp, Chaney and Wetterich all claimed first-team All-NCAC honors and Wissinger earned a spot on the second team. Geise was named honorable mention for his performance in the second event.
Head Coach Jeff Roope was named NCAC Coach of the Year for the fifth straight. He doubled up with Coach of the Year honors on the women's side as well.