St. Thomas, Herb Both Finish 15th in Men's NCAA DIII Championships

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. -- It was like match play at a distance, as Sam Goldening of Williams College and Josh Gibson of Hope battled each other from opposite sides of the golf course on Friday in the final round of the NCAA Division III Championships.  

Goldenring opened the tournament with a 3-under-par 69, which turned out to be the best round of the week, and after a second-round 74, he reclaimed the lead with a 70 on the Champion Trace course at Keene Trace Golf Club in Thursday's third round. The Williams junior, who was playing as an individual only, started the final round with a three-stroke lead over Gibson, and birdied three of the first six holes. 

Gibson, a senior, graduated from Hope with a degree in engineering in April. Last year, he won the Jack Nicklaus Award, which is given each year to the DIII player of the year, and he's a finalist again this year. (The winner of the award will be announced in June.) He was in third place going into the final round last week, but the Hope team was not in the top half of the field. So Gibson went off on the back nine Friday, and he got off to a less-than-stellar start, bogeying his first hole, the 386-yard, par-4 10th.

He recovered quickly, with a birdie at the par-3 11th, then parred the next two holes and made an eagle at the 516-yard, par-5 14th, which got him to 2 under for the round, and for the tournament. A bogey at the 15th (424 yards, par 4) and a birdie at the 18th (172, par 3) kept him there.

Meanwhile, Goldening was struggling at the end of the front nine, making a bogey at the 403-yard, par-4 eighth and a double at the 415-yard, par-4 ninth. Suddenly, he was only 3 under for the tournament, and his lead over Gibson, which had been much as six shots a few holes earlier, was down to one.

But Gibson's chances pretty much disappeared during a three-hole stretch on the front nine, as he bogeyed the par-4 third, par-4 fourth and the 206-yard, par-3 fifth. He made two birdies on the way in from there, at the par-5 sixth and the par-4 ninth, but it was too little, too late.

Gibson signed for a 1-under 71 and a 72-hole total of 287.

Goldenring settled down on the back nine, making nine straight pars for a 72 -- and a two-stroke victory with an overall 285. 

Huntingdon's Drew Mathers, another Nicklaus Award finalist, was in second place after three rounds, two behind Goldenring. He started on the front nine, and stayed within range of the lead for most of the round, mixing birdies with bogey. But he bogeyed the last two holes for a 73 and finished one behind Gibson at 288.

The team competition came down to the final day. Illinois Wesleyan and Huntingdon started it tied for first, and Wesleyan claimed the title by outscoring the Hawks 294 to 297. That gave Wesleyan 1174 for the week, and Huntingdwon 1177. Guilford was never far behind and claimed third with an 1181. It was another 12 strokes back to Concordia University of Texas (not Moorhead, or St. Paul) at 1193. 

MIAC champion St. Thomas finished 15th at 1236. The Tommies' highest individual finisher was Emmet Herb, a junior from Middleton, Wis. He made up a lot of ground with a 70 on Friday and finished in a tie for 15th at 296.

The other MIAC team in the DIII Championships was St. John's. Unfortunately, the Johnnies were missing their best player, Matt Wahl, because of illness in the first round. He played at something less than full strength in the second round and shot 82. Without a healthy Wahl, St. John's posted 316-307--623 for the first two rounds and missed the cut.

Nevertheless, the Johnnies' Danny Schneider did make the cut as an individual, and the junior from Albany was a model of consistency, going 74-74-74-75--297. That put him in 21st place in a field of more than 200 golfers. Forty-two teams started the tournament.    


MEN'S COLLEGE GOLF

NCAA Division III Championships

At Keene Trace Golf Club

Champions Trace Course, par 72, 7,190 yards

Keene Run Course, par 72, 6,897 yards

Nicholasville, Ky. 

Final results

1. Illinois Wesleyan                   287-291-302-294--1174

2. Huntingdon College              299-291-290-297--1177

3. Guilford College                    296-286-300-299--1181

4. Concordia Univ. (Texas)        288-311-301-293--1193

5. Methodist University             300-298-301-298--1197

6. Wittenberg University           295-292-308-303--1198

7. Oglethorpe                           295-303-303-299--1200

8. Claremont Mudd Scripps     299-302-303-297--1201

9. Hope College                       305-303-303-296--1207

10. Trinity College (Ct.)            290-308-309-302--1209

11. Carnagie Mellon Univ.         307-292-313-304--1216

12. Hampden-Sydney College  297-315-309-301--1222

13. Willamette University          308-306-306-308--1228

14. North Carolina Wesleyan    312-304-310-306--1232

15. St. Thomas, University of  310-310-313-303--1236

16. Rutgers-Camden                 300-311-318-308--1237

17. Redlands, Univ. of               306-312-313-310--1241

18. Aurora University                311-309-317-317--1255

Did not make the cut (620) 

St. John Fisher                          314-308--622

Washington & Lee                     312-310--622

Transylvania                               316-307--623

St. John's (Minn.)                      316-307--623

Emory University                        321-303--624

Southwestern University             302-323--625

Gettysburg College                     314-311--625

Otterbein University                    303-323--626

New York University                   311-321--632

LaVerne                                       313-320--633

Nebraska Wesleyan                    314-321--635

Washington & Jefferson              315-321--636

Husson University                       327-309--636

Webster                                       324-314--638

York College (Pa.)                      320-318--638

Rosemont Collgege                    316-322-638

Johnson & Wales (RI)                 339-311--650

Goucher College                         325-331--656

Pittsburgh-Bradford                     331-325--656

Wisconsin-Superior                     327-334--661

Stevenson                                   331-331-662

Farmingdale State                       321-346--667

Endicott College                          326-342--668

Manhattenville College                340-347--687

Individuals

1. Sam Goldenring, Williams        69-74-70-72--285*

2. Josh Gibson, Hope                    72-71-73-71--287

3. Drew Mathers, Huntingdon        70-73-72-73--288

4. Jacob Arnett, Oglethorpe           73-70-74-73--290

5. James Mishoe, Guilford             75-72-72-73--292

T15. Emmet Herb, St. Thomas     71-77-78-70--296

21. Danny Schneider, St. John's  74-74-74-75--297

T28. Jack Ritchay, St. Thomas     72-75-77-77--301

T68. Matt Mellin, St. Thomas        82-77-79-74--312

93. Peder Larson, St. Thomas      85-81-81-85--331

95. Miles McCarthy, St. Thomas   93-84-79-82--338

Did not make the cut (149)

Preston Kopel, St. John's               82-73--155

Esten Stensrud, St. John's             77-82--159

Jack Koehler, St. John's                 83-78--161

Matt Wahl, St. John's                      Illness-82

* - indicates a player competing as an individual only