Ferris State Men's Golf Claims 20th GLIAC Championship With Strong Sunday Showing
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's golf team captured the program's 20th Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship on Sunday (April 21) as the Bulldogs posted a pair of head-to-head wins to secure the league crown at Bedford Valley Golf Club near Battle Creek.
After earning the number three seed following the stroke play portion of the league championships, the Bulldogs advanced to the medal match round and beat rival Grand Valley State 3-2 in morning action. FSU then topped number one seed Ashland by a 2-1-2 score in afternoon play to emerge with the league title.
This year's GLIAC Championships utilized the new format for the first time in which all league members compted in 36 holes of stroke play on Friday and Saturday. The low four of five scores counted towards the respective team score with the top four teams advancing to head-to-head medal play on championship Sunday. The bracket format is similar to the current format utilized at the NCAA Championships.
In the opening match of the day, the Bulldogs knocked off second-seeded GVSU by winning three of the five matches. Seniors Jack Weller and Andrew Hammett posted wins by three and four strokes, respectively, while freshman Thomas Hursey won by five strokes.
After beating GVSU, the Bulldogs came back with another strong performance versus Ashland in the title match on the par 72 course measuring 7,020 yards. Senior Seth Terpstra claimed a one-stroke victory with Hammett winning his match by seven strokes. Hursey was narrowly beat by three strokes and the match came down to the final two spots where both senior Ryan Bayer and Weller finished their respective contests all squared up after 18 holes, giving FSU the win.
This year's GLIAC Championships were held in Augusta, Mich., with action at the Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort.
Ferris State, which was ranked fourth in the NCAA Midwest Regional Rankings entering the conference championships, will await the official NCAA selection announcement set for later this week. The NCAA Division II Super Regional Championships are set for May 9-11 in Hot Springs, Ark.
Visit the links below for final results from Sunday's GLIAC Championships:
Semifinal - Ferris State vs Grand Valley State (PDF)
Final - Ferris State vs Ashland (PDF)
Complete Results On Golfstat:
http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=18036
