2015 MIAC Championship Meet Preview
MIAC men's golf preview courtesy of Matt Higgins and the MIAC office
Click here for the complete MIAC men's golf preview
COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- History was made at the 2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Golf Championships with Bethel University capturing its first-ever conference title. As the 2015 MIAC meet prepares to tee off Saturday, fans are eager to see if history will repeat itself - either in the form of a Royal repeat, or another new face rising to the top.
A year ago, Bethel stunned the nationally-ranked usual suspects atop the MIAC standings to give the Royals their first-ever crown, and a trip to the NCAA Championships. St. Thomas also joined Bethel in the men's national tournament field, and represented the conference well with a 12th-place showing.
The Royals improved on each of the three days of the MIAC Championships a year ago to pull away for a six-shot win over Gustavus to claim the team's first title with a cumulative score of 906. Gustavus was in second with a 912, with Saint John's (917) and St. Thomas (921) rounding out the top four. Concordia (928) took fifth with Augsburg (930), Carleton (934), St. Olaf (946), Macalester (960) and Saint Mary's (1,007) finishing out the rest of the 2014 standings.
This season, several of the same contenders expect to be in the mix based on this fall's results. St. Thomas enters with the top team scoring average of 296.9, with defending champ Bethel also below 300 at 298.3. Gustavus comes into the MIAC meet with an average of 300.4, with Saint John's (302.0) and Augsburg (303.4) right on the Gusties' heels.
Concordia is also in a top six that all averages below 307 shots per round. Saint Mary's (314.4) has been one of the MIAC's most improved teams under new Head Coach Greg Moore. Macalester averages an even 315.0 shots per round, and St. Olaf (318.1) and Carleton (318.4) round out the 2015 leader board.
The defending champion Royals have nearly their entire lineup back intact from last year's championship run, which resulted in the MIAC Coach-of-the-Year award for Tony Weber. Alex Case was an All-MIAC selection in 2014-15, and has the league's fourth-best scoring average this season at 73.8. Junior Grant Exsted is right behind case at 74.0, and two-time All-MIAC golfer Dillon John is averaging an event 75 shots per round.
Gustavus was the runner-up a year ago behind a brilliant individual performance from a bright young star. Chris Captain was the MIAC Championships medalist, Rookie-of-the-Year and an All-Conference pick as a freshman, and this season he's tied for second with a 73.6 average. Senior Matt Spier also returns after earning All-MIAC honors a year ago.
Saint John's has high hopes for another top-three MIAC finish with a talented lineup back in Collegeville. Ryan Gallagher was second at the 2014 MIAC Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual, and he was joined on the All-MIAC team by fellow junior Collin Seal a year ago.
St. Thomas has the tough task of replacing 2014-15 MIAC Player-of-the-Year Alex Kapraun, and all five of its players from the 2014 MIAC Championships lineup, but it appears Head Coach Scott Proshek has re-loaded in 2015. The Tommies lead the MIAC in team scoring average (296.9) with Pete Sienko's 72.4 average leading the conference's individual leader board. Junior Nick Nielsen earned medalist honors last weekend and has a 74.9 average to lead UST as well.
Concordia has some serious top-end talent as the Cobbers try for another top-five finish, led by two-time all-MIAC senior Landon Poss, and junior Cade Montplaisir, who leads the team with a 74.6 scoring average. Augsburg is eyeing upward mobility in the MIAC Championship standings with a talented crew back. led by senior Brandon Jones (74.9 stroke average) and junior Brett Gaustad (73.6 stroke average), who both bring plenty of conference championship experience.
Carleton has its top player back in senior Ned Rohrbach, who is a two-time All-Conference selection and finished second in the MIAC with a 74.2 scoring average last season. Sophomore Perry Strong slots in behind Rohrbach to also lead the team's sophomore-heavy lineup. St. Olaf has a pair of upperclassmen leading the way this fall with a host of young talent coming up behind them. Senior Charlie Johnson and junior Chris Winge will lead the Oles into the 2015 MIAC meet with hopes of improving on last year's eighth-place finish.
Macalester's young team is continuing to grow, with juniors Josh Wingardner and Drew Gumila both back atop the Scots lineup in 2015. Saint Mary's has been a pleasant surprise in 2015 under Moore's direction, with senior Blake Westerberg playing outstanding, consistent golf all fall with a 74.1 scoring average. Sophomore Brett Jackson also averages under 80 shots per round to lead the Cardinals.
The three-day, 54-hole MIAC Golf Championships will tee off Saturday at 11 a.m. at Bunker Hills. Sunday's second round will also tee off at 11 a.m., and Monday's final round will tee off at 9 a.m. Spectators are welcome to attend and there is no admission fee, and spectators are encouraged to read and follow the tournament's spectator rules.
There will be a short awards ceremony following Monday's final round to honor the top teams and individuals. The championship team will receive the MIAC championship plaque, as well as the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division III Golf Championships. The top 10 individual finishers will be named to the All-Championship team, and will be automatically eligible for All-Conference honors in the spring.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
There are numerous ways fans that aren't traveling to Coon Rapids can follow all the action throughout the tournament. The MIAC has enhanced its (unofficial) live scoring, and now offers hole-by-hole updates through Golfstat's live scoring system. Fans will easily be able to track team and individual progress throughout all three rounds.
The MIAC has a championship home page for the event, that will serve as the online home of the tournament. The championship page will include tee times, pairings and results as they become available, as well as recaps, photos and more.
