2011 MIAC Meet Preview
MOORHEAD, Minn. (09/29/11)-- Concordia will be under a brighter spotlight when it enters the 2011 MIAC Championship Meet. The Cobbers will have the lights shined on the defending individual champion as well as a team that is trying to make a bid for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Concordia junior Andrew Whitchurch (Litchfield, Minn.) exemplifies the old golfing adage "horses for courses". Whitchurch entered last year's MIAC Championship Meet as the No.3 golfer for the Cobbers and proceeded to fire a 1-under 215 (75-71-69) and win medalist honors by five shots. He pulled the same conference-tournament magic in 2009 when he went from the middle of the CC pack to a sixth-place finish and All-Conference honors.
As a team, Concordia will be looking to break into the top 3 at the meet. The Cobbers have not finished in the top 3 at the conference meet since 2001. Since then they have recorded seven top 5 finishes but have never pushed through to the top 3. There will be extra weight on posting a top finish at this year's meet since CC is currently in the hunt for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cobbers are riding the wave of success heading into the 2011 championship meet. Concordia has won the last two invites they have participated in and has not finished outside the top4 in any meet this year. They breezed to the tournament title at the UM-Morris Invite and then captured the crown at the Macalester Invite last weekend.
Senior Pat Deitz (Moorhead, Minn.) is the clear-cut No.1 golfer for Concordia. Deitz is second in the MIAC in scoring average. He is averaging 74.8 strokes over his nine rounds this season. His biggest eye-opening moment of the year came at the St. John's Fall Invite where he shot a 72-77 and won individual champion honors. He was named the MIAC Men's Golfer of the Week for his tournament win.
Concordia has a pair of freshman that make up the team's top 4 for the season. Tyler Koivisto (Cokato, Minn./Dassel-Cokato HS) is the team's No.2 golfer when it comes to scoring average this season. Koivisto has a 76.3 average and is coming off a second-place finish at the Macalester Invite where he tied for low score honors. Coy Papachek (Fargo, N.D./Fargo South HS) has a 77.3 average and has a pair of top 15 finishes on the year.
Like 2010, Whitchurch enters as the team's No.3 golfer. He has a 77.0 average in 2011 and had his best finish at the UM-Morris Invite where he placed third.
One of the keys for CC at the conference meet will be to have a solid No.5 golfer. Leading the pack of golfers for the final spot is junior Jordie Siverson (Moorhead, Minn.). Siverson is coming off his two best outings of the year. He placed fourth at the UM-Morris Invite and then was seventh at the Macalester Invite.
Complete MIAC Men's Golf Championship Meet Preview