Friday, April 5, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. - Five of the six GNAC men's golf teams were in action over the past two weeks, competing in the Bob Writz Invite, the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational and the Northwest Nazarene-College of Idaho Spring Dual match.

Simon Fraser highlighted the group, finishing in a tie for second against a big field in Turlock, Calif. Working their way back into the mix with one of the lowest third-round scores in the field, the Clan totaled a three-round score of 864.

Freshman Aidan Goodfellow led the way for SFU, finishing in a tie for second place individually with a 5-under-par finish across three days of play at Turlock Golf & Country Club. The performance marked the fourth top-five finish for a Simon Fraser player this year.

Western Washington also impressed at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational, placing fourth with a score that was just two shots behind second-place. Freshman Jordan Lee led his team in Turlock, finishing in ninth with a score of even-par.

LAST WEEK'S TOURNAMENTS
Bob Writz Invite (Mar. 23-24 at Bear Creek Golf Club, Denver, Colo.): Team - 1, Colorado Mines, 605 (300-305). 7, Montana State Billings, 637 (321-316). Individuals - 1, Victor Bjorlow, Colorado, 143 (72-71). T28, Riley Kaercher, Montana State Billings, 156 (76-80).

Hanny Stanislaus Invitational (Apr. 1-2 at Turlock Golf & Country Club, Turlock, Calif.): Team - 1, Chico State, 846 (280-280-286). T2, Simon Fraser, 864 (290-290-284). 4, Western Washington, 866 (300-285-281). 10, Concordia, 890 (288-299-303). Individuals - 1, Josh McCollum, Chico State, 206 (67-67-72). T2, Aidan Goodfellow, Simon Fraser, 211 (73-69-69). 9, Jordan Lee, Western Washington, 216 (76-71-69). T10, Scott Kerr, Simon Fraser, 217 (71-75-71). T10, Sy Lovan, Simon Fraser, 217 (75-73-69).

Northwest Nazarene/College of Idaho Spring Dual Match (Apr. 1 at TimberStone Golf Course, Caldwell, Idaho): Team – 1, Northwest Nazarene, 294. 2, College of Idaho, 308. Individuals - 1, Chris Carew, College of Idaho, 71. 2, Jared Stensgaard, 72.

AROUND THE GNAC
CONCORDIA
• Playing in their fifth tournament of the spring season, the Cavaliers finished in 10th place at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational.

• Junior Jaxson Daskalos was the team's top placer, posting a two-under-par 70 in the first round to lead the way to a tie for 21st individually. He ended the week tied for fifth place among competitors from the GNAC.

• Sophomore Luke Travins finished inside the top-30 at Turlock Golf & Country Club with a score of 4-over-par 220. The Colorado Springs product fired an even-par 72 between bookend rounds of 74 to finish tied for 30th.

• Daskalos is the team leader in scoring average with a total of 73.2 over the course of 26 rounds. Sophomore Adam Quandt is following closely behind with a 73.4 clip.

• Concordia is now off for the next few weeks in preparation for the GNAC Men's Golf Championships, running April 22-23 at Coeur d'Alene Resort in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets recorded a two-day total of 637 to finish in seventh place at the Bob Writz Invite. The tournament marked their third event of the spring season and was the team's penultimate regular-season competition.

• Sophomore Riley Kaercher led the way for Montana State Billings, finishing tied for 28th individually with a total score of 156. Kaercher got off to a hot start in Denver, posting his team's lowest number of the tournament with a first-round 76.

• Billings native Payton Stott was just one stroke behind his top teammate. Stott finished in a tie for 33rd at Bear Creek Golf Club with a total of 157.

• Newcomer Jayd Dion (75.8 through four rounds) and junior Garrett Woodin (76.0 through 22) lead MSUB through eight tournaments this season.

• Up next for the Yellowjackets is a trip south to Goodyear, Ariz., where it will join three other GNAC teams at the Mustang Intercollegiate on April 8-9.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Playing in just their second competition of the spring season after a long winter, the Nighthawks won their spring dual match at College of Idaho.

• Nampa native Jared Stensgaard was the team's top placer, using an even-par 72 to pave the way to a second-place finish individually. Stensgaard was just one stroke behind the first-place finisher.

• Junior Henry Bernard and senior Justin Higgins finished tied for third at TimberStone with a tally of 73.

• Bernard is the team leader in scoring average with a total of 75.2 over 18 rounds. Andrew Cortez is following closely behind with a 76.9 clip.

• Northwest Nazarene will return to the links next week at the Mustang Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz.

SIMON FRASER
• Playing in their third tournament of the spring season, the Clan put together one of their best stretches of the 2018-19 campaign to finish in a tie for second at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational.

• Freshman Aidan Goodfellow was the team's top placer, using back-to-back scores of 3-under-par 69s to finish in a tie for second individually. His two-day total of 211 was five strokes back of the first-place finisher.

• Juniors Sy Lovan and Scott Kerr finished inside the top-10 at Turlock Golf & Country Club with a three-round total of 217. Lovan currently ranks ninth in the GNAC in scoring average at 74.0.

• Freshman Isaac Lee is the team leader in scoring average with a total of 73.6 over the course of 23 rounds. That mark has Lee slotted at sixth in the conference.

• In the latest edition of the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll, the Clan come in ranked at No. 15 nationally. In the Golfstat Division II Team Rankings, they are ranked 18th.

• Simon Fraser is off for the next three weeks in preparation for the GNAC Men's Golf Championships, taking place April 22-23 at Coeur d'Alene Resort in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings recorded a two-day total of 866 to finish in fourth place against a competitive field at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational. The team now has seven top-five finishes in eight events on the 2018-19 season.

• Freshman Jordan Lee led the way for Western Washington, finishing in ninth place individually with a total score of 216. Lee used marked improvement over the three rounds to work his way inside the top-10, ending the tournament with scores of 71 and 69 after an opening-round 76.

• The next-highest Vikings all finished in a tie for 21st as Michael Butler, Ethan Casto and Nick Sparling all ended the event at 2-over-par. 

• Sparling and Lee lead WWU with a 72.4 scoring average. The conference's top four scorers all hail from Western Washington as Butler (72.7) and Bellingham product Cody Roth (73.0) follow close behind.

• In the latest edition of the Golfstat Division II Team Rankings, the Vikings come in ranked at No. 4 nationally. In the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll, they are currently ranked sixth. 

• Up next for Western Washington is a trip south to Goodyear, Ariz., where it will join Montana State Billings, Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's at the Mustang Intercollegiate on April 8-9.