Friday, April 30, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – With last year’s golf season coming to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tyler Fitchett didn’t get a chance to prove that he belongs with the conference’s best. He finally got that chance this year.

Fitchett was named the Player of the Year and leads the selections to the 2020-21 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Golf All-Conference Team. The Saint Martin’s senior earned First Team All-GNAC honors for the first time in his collegiate career after earning a second-team nod in each of the last two seasons.

Fitchett leads the conference with a 72.6 stroke average over 13 rounds with a low round of 69 and six rounds of par or better. He finished in the top-10 on three occasions, highlighted by his individual victory at the GNAC Championships. Fitchett became just the second Saint Martin’s player to earn medalist honors at the GNAC Championships, winning by three strokes with a score of 2-under-par 214. He was the only player in the field to finish under par.

After leading Saint Martin’s to its first-ever GNAC title, Kevin Bishop was named the GNAC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year in his 14th season as head coach. The Saints edged out Western Washington at the GNAC Championships by two strokes to win with a final score of 875. The Saints are second in the conference with a 298.5 stroke average and earned the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.

Saint Martin’s also earned the Newcomer of the Year award in junior Nick Baker. Baker owns a stroke average of 77.7 over 13 rounds. He has three rounds of par or better, led by a low round of 1-under-par 71 in the opening round of the Saint Martin’s Regional Preview.

Northwest Nazarene’s Lane Strand was named the Freshman of the Year with a 78.3 stroke average over 12 rounds. He shot par or better in two rounds this season, including a low round of 1-under-par 71 in the final round of the GNAC Championships. Strand is just the second player in Northwest Nazarene history and the first since 2009 to earn the honor.

Western Washington took over the All-Conference Team with four of its five selections landing on the first team. Earning first-team nods from the Vikings are freshman Drew Halili and juniors Aidan Thain, Brody Bonfilio and Devin Andrews. Rounding out the first team is Montana State Billings senior Garrett Woodin.

Halili is tied for sixth in the conference with a 75 stroke average over seven rounds. He led the Vikings at the GNAC Championships with a second-place finish at 1-over-par 217. His tournament included an even-par 72 in the second round and a 1-under-par 71 in the third.

Last year’s Newcomer of the Year, Thain claimed three of the four GNAC Player of the Week awards this season. Thain leads the Vikings and is second in the conference with a 73.6 stroke average. He opened the season with a tie for third place at the Nighthawks Invitational, leading the Vikings to the team victory with a score of 4-over-par 148. He tied for fifth place and led the GNAC field again at the Saint Martin’s Regional Preview with an even-par 144.

Bonfilio is a four-time all-conference selection, earning First Team All-GNAC honors for the third time in 2020-21. Bonfilio ranks third in the conference with a 74.3 stroke average. He has two rounds of par or better with a low round of 70 that came in the final round of the GNAC Championships, where he tied for sixth place at 5-over-par 221.

Andrews is just behind Bonfilio and ranks fourth in the conference with a 74.5 stroke average. He finished tied for eighth place at the Nighthawks Invitational with a score of 7-over-par 151. He tied for eighth again at the GNAC Championships at 7-over-par 223. Andrews is tied for the lowest round in the GNAC this season with a 4-under-par 68 in the opening round of the Mustang Intercollegiate.

Woodin is fifth in the conference with a 74.8 stroke average over 15 rounds. He finished in the top-10 three times and in the top-five on two occasions. Woodin finished in second place at the Hardrocker Classic with a score of 8-over-par 150 as the Yellowjackets claimed the team title. He placed third at the GNAC Championships at 3-over-par 219.

Western Washington led the way with five all-conference selections while Saint Martin’s had three. Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene both earned two selections. Western Washington sophomore Jordan Lee joins Fitchett in earning an all-conference nod for the third time.

All four participating GNAC teams were selected to compete at the 2021 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf West/South Central Regional, which will be played on May 6-8 at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington.

2020-21 GNAC MEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Player of the Year: Tyler Fitchett, Saint Martin's
Coach of the Year: Kevin Bishop, Saint Martin's
Freshman of the Year: Lane Strand, Northwest Nazarene
Newcomer of the Year: Nick Baker, Saint Martin's