Saturday, May 13, 2023

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – The NCAA West/South Central Super Regional might be over, but the GNAC is still swinging as Western Washington, and Simon Fraser are both advancing to the 2023 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Warren, Ohio.

Western Washington led the conference at the Foxtail Golf Club with a three-round score of 3-over-par 867 to tie for first place along with host Sonoma State. The Vikings faced the Seawolves in a head-to-head playoff that was eventually called off after two holes due to fading light conditions.

The Regional trophy will remain in Rohnert Park, California but the result secures WWU a spot at the NCAA Championships in two weeks. The Vikings posted their lowest team round of the tournament today with 284 to close out the tournament.

Simon Fraser made it two GNAC programs headed to Warren in a tie for fourth place with a three-round score of 7-over-par 871 to finish level with Oklahoma Christian. The Red Leafs finished one stroke ahead of sixth-place Colorado Christian after matching their best team round of the tournament today with a score of 289.

Western Washington’s Jordan Lee led all GNAC golfers at the tournament with a three-round score of 9-under-par 207. Lee’s performance was second only to individual medalist Griffin Pace of Sonoma State who won the tournament by a margin of just three strokes.

Lee showed why he has been one of the top golfers in the west this season, improving in every round of the tournament. After opening the West Regional with a 1-under-par 71 on Thursday, he shot a 69 on Friday before completing the tournament with a score of 5-under-par 67. He has now finished in the top two at four straight tournaments.

Sophomore Seth King made it two Western Washington golfers in the top 10 in a tie for eighth with a score of 2-under-par 214. King opened and closed the tournament with a low round of 71. Junior Drew Halili and sophomore Conrad Brown rounded out the scoring effort for the Vikings in ties for 46th and 74th, respectively.

Simon Fraser’s Aidan Goodfellow made it two GNAC golfers in the top three with a score of 5-under-par 211 to finish the West Regional in third place. Goodfellow carded his low round of the tournament on Friday with a score of 4-under-par 68 that featured five birdies.

Simon Fraser junior Michael Crisologo followed Goodfellow in a tie for 32nd with a three-round score of 4-over-par 220. Crisologo opened and closed the tournament with low rounds of 73. Senior Jordan Bean and sophomore Bailey Bjornson completed the scoring four for the Red Leafs in ties for 41st and 61st, respectively.

Western Washington and Simon Fraser will now turn their attention to the biggest tournament of the season, the NCAA Division II Championships which will take place at Avalon Lakes in Warren, Ohio from May 22-26. The Vikings and Red Leafs will compete against 18 programs from across the country while Turnquist will join a minimum of seven other individual golfers to make the tournament field.