Friday, October 12, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. - Five of the six GNAC men's golf teams were in action over the past two weeks, taking to Billings and Portland for the Battlin' Bears and Concordia Invitationals. 

No. 14 Western Washington highlighted the bunch, winning its third tournament in as many starts with a first-place showing in Portland. The Vikings finished 25 strokes clear of the next-highest finisher, totaling a two-day score of 844. 

Freshman Jordan Lee led the way for the Vikings, finishing at 8-under-par across three rounds of play at Columbia Edgewater. Lee was fresh off a top-five finish at his last event in the team's own WWU Invitational. 

Simon Fraser placed second at the Concordia Invitational, following up a fifth-place finish at its last event with a 17-over-par score in Portland.

Freshman Isaac Lee has led his team through the first three tournaments of the year with a scoring average of 72.1.

LAST WEEK'S TOURNAMENTS
Battlin' Bears Invitational (Oct. 1-2 at Peter Yegen Jr. Golf Club, Billings, Mont.): Team - 1, Rocky Mountain, 801 (268-264-269). T6, Montana State Billings, 864 (291-286-287) Individuals - 17, Caleb Trost, Montana State Billings, 213 (72-70-71). 

Concordia Invitational (Oct. 8-9 at Columbia Edgewater Golf Club, Portland, Ore.): Team - 1, Western Washington, 844 (280-281-283). 2, Simon Fraser, 869 (288-290-291). 3, Concordia, 875 (292-289-294). 4, Northwest Nazarene, 932 (316-321-295). 6. Montana State Billings, 940 (315-308-317). Individuals - 1, Jordan Lee, Western Washington, 205 (67-66-62). 2, Jaxson Daskalos, Concordia, 213 (71-70-72). T3, Michael Butler, Western Washington, 214 (72-69-73). T3, Ethan Casto, Western Washington, 214 (67-80-67). T3, Isaac Lee, Simon Fraser, 214 (73-70-71). 6, Adam Quandt, Concordia, 215 (68-68-79). 7, Riley Killip, Concordia, 216 (71-72-73). 8, Sy Lovan, Simon Fraser, 217 (69-72-76). 9, Cody Roth, Western Washington, 218 (74-73-71). 10, Marcus Brown, Simon Fraser, 219 (70-77-72).

AROUND THE GNAC
CONCORDIA
• Playing in their fourth tournament of the fall season, the Cavaliers finished with an impressive third-place showing at their own Concordia Invitational.

• Junior Jaxson Daskalos was the team's top placer in Portland, using a trio of consistent rounds (71-70-72) to pave the way to an even-par finish. His three-round total of 213 put him in second place individually. Daskalos was the GNAC Men's Golfer of the Week in the first week of the season after earning medalist honors at the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational.

• Two more Cavaliers, sophomores Adam Quandt and Riley Killip, finished inside the top-10 at Columbia Edgewater with a score of 2-over-par 215 and 3-over-par 216, respectively.

• Concordia put up a pair of top-five finishes in its first two outings this season, beginning with a title at the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational before tying for fifth at the Saint Martin's Invitational.

• The Cavaliers return to the course next week for their final tournament of the fall, traveling to Utah for the Dixie State Fall Regional Preview. The competition will run from Oct. 15-16 in St. George. 

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings opened the month of October with a pair of sixth-place showings at the Battlin' Bears and Concordia Invitationals, finishing with three-round totals of 864 in Billings and 940 in Portland.

• Caleb Trost led the way for MSUB, carding an even-par 213 over three rounds at Peter Yegen Golf Club before a 15-over-par 228 at Columbia Edgewater. Those performances placed the Billings-native inside the top-20 at both of those tournaments.

• Trost leads the Yellowjackets' roster in scoring average at 74.53, while his high school teammate Garrett Woodin follows closely behind at 74.67. 

• Montana State Billings will return to action next week at the Mike Grob Cup, running Oct. 18-20 at Peter Yegen Jr. Golf Club and Lake Hills Golf Club in Billings. 

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene came in fourth place at this week's Concordia Invitational, recording a total score of 932.

• Junior Henry Bernard finished tied for 11th to lead NNU. The team's No. 1 player entering the tournament, Bernard rode bookend 72s to a 7-over-par 220 finish.

• Sophomore Isaac Emerson was the other Nighthawk to place inside the top-30. Emerson carded a 22-over-par 235.

• Up next for Northwest Nazarene is a trip to St. George, Utah for the Dixie State Fall Regional Preview.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser opened the second month of the season with second-place finish at the Concordia Invitational, posting a three-round total of 869 (288-290-291).

• Freshman Isaac Lee led the way for SFU, carding a 1-over-par 214 over three rounds. Lee leads the team in scoring (72.1), while B.C.-native Marcus Brown is in second at 73.0.

• The showing in Portland marked Simon Fraser's third top-five finish in as many tournaments as the Clan finished second and fifth at the Saint Martin's and Western Washington Invitationals.

• In the latest edition of the GCAA Coaches Poll, SFU is among teams receiving votes with 23 points. 

• The team will return to the course next week at the Dixie State Fall Regional Preview.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings took home their third tournament title of the season at the Concordia Invitational, recording a three-day total of 844 to finish on top of the eight-team field.

• Freshman Jordan Lee took home medalist honors to lead Western Washington. He opened his week with scores of 67 and 66 (the lowest round of the tournament) to top all other individuals. 

• Upperclassmen Michael Butler and Ethan Casto were the other Vikings to place inside the top-five. The pair finished in a tie for third with totals of 1-over-par 214s. 

• The 25-stroke victory was just the latest in a string of dominant performances to start the year. They were named the GNAC Team of the Week after a 17-stroke win at the Saint Martin's Invitational, then followed that with another win at their own WWU Invitational. 

• In the latest edition of the GCAA Coaches Poll, WWU comes in ranked at No. 14. It was one of just four teams to receive at least one first-place vote. 

• Up next for Western Washington is a trip south to St. George, where it will join four other GNAC teams at The Ledges Golf Club.