Tuesday, April 21, 2015

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho - Simon Fraser set tournament records for low 54-hole score and the largest margin of victory in cruising to the team championship Tuesday in the eighth annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Golf  Championships presented by the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

The Clan finished 1-2-3-4 as Bret Thompson edged teammate Chris Crisologo for medalist honors with a score of 205.  Thompson carded a one-under par 70 on the 6,803 Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course layout Tuesday after shooting rounds of 68 and 67 on Monday.

Crisologo had the tournament’s best round Tuesday, shooting a five-under 66 to finish at 206.

Both golfers easily broke the tournament record for lowest score of 212 set by Western Washington’s Craig Crawford in 2012.

SFU’s John  Mlikotic finished third with a 212 total, tying the old tournament record and defending champion Kevin Vigna finished fourth for the Clan with a 214 total.  Mlikotic shot 73 and Vigna carded a 70 in Tuesday’s final round.

SFU finished with a team score of 837, carding the three best team rounds (277, 281 and 279).

Western Washington, which won six consecutive team titles between 2008 and 2013 before being dethroned by Northwest Nazarene last year, finished second with a 874 team total, a distant 37 shots back.  Mark Strickland and Chris Hatch were WWU’s top finishers, tying for eighth with 219 totals.

Northwest Nazarene finished third with a 876 total and Saint Martin’s placed fourth with a 885 total. Montana State Billings ended up fifth at 894.  NNU’s Justin McAfee, SMU’s Austin Spicer and MSUB's Jake Hedge tied for fifth with 218 scores.

The previous largest margin of victory in the tournament was 28 shots by Western Washington in 2010.  Saint Martin’s finished second that year.

Simon Fraser came into the tournament ranked third in the NCAA Division II West Region and 10th nationally.  Western Washington was ranked 10th in the last West Region poll.

The NCAA will announce which 10 teams from the West Region advance to the NCAA regional tournament Friday at 1 p.m. with a release on ncaa.com.