SEOSU, UCO move on to Division II National Championship

ALLENDALE, Mich. – Southeastern will play in the NCAA Division II National Championship for the first time after finishing second in the Central/Midwest Super Regional Wednesday.

Zach James finished second individually despite a final-round 78 in windy, rainy and cold  conditions. Hayden Foster tied for 21st after a final round of 76. Teammate Mason Horner was also tied for 21st after a 79. No teams broke 300 in the final round.

Guillermo Retana and Marcos Sevilla Suarez each shot 78.

The NCAA Division II Championship is May 17-21 in Denver, Colo.

Central Oklahoma took advantage of the poor conditions to earn a trip to the national tournament.

The Bronchos closed with a 314 – 14 shots higher than its second-round score – behind a trio of 78s, but moved up three spots in the final standings to claim the fifth and final qualifying berth in the three-day, 54-hole tournament at the 6,958-yard, par-71 The Meadows Golf Course.

Only five of the 102 players in the field broke 75 in the final round and no team shot better than 301.  Central Missouri won the 19-team event with a 900 total, while Southeastern Oklahoma (901), Bellarmine (908), Tiffin (912) and UCO (913) also advanced to the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships May 17-21 in Denver, Colo.

Logan Gray, Russ Purser and Cody Troutman all shot 78 to lead the Bronchos, with Eli Armstrong adding an 80 and Eric Kline an 83.

“It was tough out there today, but we did what we needed to do,” head coach Pat Bates said.  “I’m proud of these guys for getting back us to the national tournament and we’re excited about the opportunity.”

Purser clinched UCO’s fifth-place showing by paring the final four holes to cap off a back-nine 38 after opening with a 40.

Gray had 12 pars and six bogeys on the day in his 78, while Troutman had two double bogeys in a front-nine 41 before rebounding with a one-over 37 on the back.

SWOSU put together the lowest score in the final round, climbing 11 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for sixth place. The Bulldogs finished one spot away from having a playoff for the final spot in the NCAA Division II National Championships.
 
SWOSU was one of the first teams onto the course on Wednesday and, conversely, one of the first teams in the clubhouse. At the time of their finish, the Bulldogs were in 13th place, with many of the leading teams just getting out and playing their final round at The Meadows. As the scores began to come in, it became clear that the Bulldogs score would give them a chance to stay in contention until the end of the tournament.
 
The Bulldogs finished tied with Lewis University for sixth place at the Super Regional with a three-round total of 915 strokes. SWOSU carded team total of 301 on Wednesday, matching their first-round stroke total and improving from their second round score by 12 strokes. The Bulldogs were nine shots better than the rest of the field in the final round.
 
Jake Duvall led the Bulldogs in his final collegiate event, shooting a 73 to finish tied for fifth place, one spot away from advancing to his third NCAA Division II National Championships as an individual. Stefan Idstam shot a 74 and tied for 33rd place.
 
Marques Gomez fired his second straight 76 and tied for 58th place, two shots ahead of Nicolas Cornu after he carded a 78 (+7) on Wednesday. For the second consecutive day, Joby Gray totaled 82 strokes and he finished tied for 91st at the championships.
 
Northeaster State’s Tate Williamson finished in a tie for 11th.  Williamson, a junior representing the Northeastern State men’s golf team as an individual, posted a final-round score of 79 to remain in 11th at 12-over-par 225 (68-78-79). 

Williamson made 12 pars in his final round but added four bogeys and his first two double bogeys of the championship to land one stroke outside a top-10 finish.

 He ends the 2015-16 season with his seventh top-15 effort. He failed to finish inside the top 20 in just one of 11 tournaments this year.

2016 NCAA CENTRAL/MIDWEST REGIONAL – Final Round Results
May 2-4, 2016 at Allendale, Mich.
(par-71, 6,958-yard The Meadows Golf Course)

Team Standings

1.        Central Missouri                                294-294-312=900 (+48)

2.        Southeastern Oklahoma State         291-300-310=901 (+49)

3.        Bellarmine                                         294-295-319=908 (+56)

4.        Tiffin                                                   289-303-320=912 (+60)

5.        Central Oklahoma                             299-299-314=913 (+61)

T6.     Southwestern Oklahoma State        301-313-301=915 (+63)

           Lewis                                                  298-296-321=915 (+63)

8.        Northern Michigan                           302-301-313=916 (+64)

T9.     Lindenwood                                      301-304-312=917 (+65)

           Washburn                                          301-292-324=917 (+65)

11.     Missouri-St. Louis                             300-299-320=919 (+67)

12.     Ferris State                                        311-302-307=920 (+68)

T13.   Grand Valley State                            295-301-326=922 (+70)

           Henderson State                               301-305-316=922 (+70)

           Arkansas Tech                                   301-311-310=922 (+70)

T16.   Winona State                                     302-311-316=929 (+77)

           Indianapolis                                       305-322-302=929 (+77)

18.     Minnesota State                                 307-306-324=937 (+85)

19.     Northwood                                        308-322-317=947 (+95)

Top-5 Standings

1.        Talon Supak (Illinois-Springfield)*             70-71-77=218 (+5)

2.        Zach James (Southeastern Oklahoma State)           69-72-78=219 (+6)

T3.     James Inman (Bellarmine)                           69-72-79=220 (+7)

           Bryce Burke (Arkansas Tech)                     72-75-73=220 (+7)

T5.     Alex Springer (Central Missouri)                71-73-77=221 (+8)

           Jake Duvall (Southwestern Oklahoma State)           73-75-73=221 (+8)

* = Competing as an individual

NSU Individuals

T11.   Tate Williamson                                68-78-79=225 (+12)