Monday, June 28, 2021

NORMAN, Okla. – Four GNAC players were named to the 12-player 2021 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf PING All-West Region Team, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Friday.

Landing on the team were Saint Martin’s senior Tyler Fitchett and junior Max Turnquist and Western Washington juniors Devin Andrews and Aidan Thain.

Fitchett was named the GNAC Men’s Golf Player of the Year and became just the second player in Saint Martin’s history to earn medalist honors at the GNAC Championships when he won the tournament in April. Led by Fitchett, the Saints won their first-ever GNAC title to claim the conference’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division II West/South Central Regional. They placed second at regionals to punch their tickets to their first NCAA National Championships appearance since 2005.

Fitchett finished the season ranked second in the GNAC with a 73.8 stroke average over 19 rounds with seven rounds of par or better. He finished in the top 10 three times and carded a low round of 69, accomplished on three occasions.

Turnquist earned Second Team All-GNAC honors after ranking 10th in the conference with a 75.3 stroke average over 19 rounds. He finished the season with four rounds of par or better. Turnquist tied for sixth place at the GNAC Championships and the West/South Central Regional, which were both played at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington.

A First Team All-GNAC selection, Andrews finished third in the conference with a 74.5 stroke average over 16 rounds. He had two rounds of par or better and a low round of 68 at April’s Mustang Intercollegiate, which is tied for the lowest round in the conference this season.

Andrews finished in a four-way tie for eighth place at the GNAC Championships as the Vikings placed second to the Saints by just two strokes. The Vikings led the conference with a 296.6 team stroke average and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 22nd consecutive season.

Thain led the conference with a 73.6 stroke average over 10 rounds on his way to earning a first-team nod. He finished in the top five at two of his four tournaments, led by a tie for third place at March’s Nighthawks Invitational. Thain did not compete at the GNAC Championships or the West/South Central Regional.