VU Golf Team wins 2nd National Title

vu-golf-team-2016

The Vincennes University Golf Team showed outstanding ability to maintain its concentration, coupled with additional mental toughness to withstand pesky weather and a “refuse-to-lose” attitude in securing the program’s second NJCAA Div. III National Championship.

 


The Trailblazers grabbed the national title by 15 strokes over Georgia Northwestern Tech, 1198-1213. Minnesota State was third (1219), host Jamestown finished fourth (1247) and Madison came in fifth (1260). The rest of the 12-team field finished as follows:

  • Sixth place: Monroe (1265),
  • Seventh place: Anne Arundel (1277),
  • Eighth place: Sandhills (1287),
  • Ninth place: Bucks County (1313),
  • 10th place: Nassau (1322),
  • 11th place: Camden County (1349), and,
  • 12th place: Community College of Rhode Island (1352).

VU took command of the four-day tournament, led by three strokes after Day 1 and increased its lead after each day’s play concluded. VU Coach Dennis Chattin, who picks up his second NJCAA Div. III Coach of the Tournament award, had stressed the importance of maintaining concentration all the way through the event and getting consistent scores while having various golfers from throughout the lineup shoot low scores when needed. His team responded and performed. The result was a lead as wide as 20 strokes after the third round and a comfortable cushion until the end.

“They really did the job,” Chattin said of his team’s ability to execute the Trailblazer gameplan. “One day, Jacob (Bartley) was the low guy, another day Jacob and Joe Davis tied as low man, a couple of other days Ian (Weyer) had the low score for us. Guys just really stepped up and allowed us to stay ahead. I’m really proud of the effort from everyone; the (total) score of 1198 is among the lowest ever at this location for the championship (tournament).

“The round of 293 was also among the lowest for a round,” he continued. “What’s even more impressive is that they put that round together in some tough (weather) conditions and you might say that was the ‘separator’ (from the remaining field) for us. It was windy and chilly that day and it had rained earlier so it was wet too.”

Bartley was a model of consistency for VU, posting scores of 74-74-71-74 for a total score of 293. That performance earned a third place individual finish and NJCAA Div. III First-Team All-American status. Bartley, a Jasper High School graduate, got plenty of support. Fellow Jasper native Ian Weyer was eighth after carding scores of 78-72-78-73 for an overall score of 301 and Davis finished in 12th place (77-76-71-79 for total score of 303). Both Ian Weyer and Davis landed Second-Team All-American honors. The Trailblazers’ third Jasper product, Cameron Weyer, claimed a 17th place finish and Honorable-Mention All-American status by shooting scores of 75-84-74-74 to wrap up play at 307. Blake Claycomb was in a logjam for a four-way tie for 21st after he posted scores of 77-80-77-79 (313).

Mohawk Valley’s Dante Migliore was the individual medalist (289). Migliore and Georgia Northwestern Tech’s Chase Cole both turned in final round scores of 68 to edge out Bartley, who had wrestled the lead away from Migliore after Round 3. Migliore topped Cole in a play-off.