GREENSBORO, N.C. - Taking a two stroke lead into the final round, the Schriener University men's golf team held off a furious rally by Oglethorpe University and finished strong down the stretch to win its first NCAA Championship on Friday afternoon at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Final Leaderboard | Championship Highlights | Interview with Head Coach Ron Macosko | Interview with Junior Cheyne Kendall | Interview with Junior Jimmy Keener
The Mountaineers posted a four-day total of 1185 (+33), five shots clear of second-place Oglethorpe (1190, +38). The SCAC also placed five individuals in the top five in Cheyne Kendall (2nd, E) and Jimmy Keener (T-3rd, +2) as well as Jordan Cowart (T-3rd, +2) of Southwestern University. The Pirates finished in 11th place with a team score of 1212 (+60).
The University of Redlands finished in third place at 1192 (+40) while Methodist University took home the fourth place trophy with a score of 1197 (+45).
The national championship is the eighth team national championship for the SCAC and the third in the sport of men's golf - with all three of those championships coming in the last six years (Oglethorpe in 2009 and 2012).
"Great friends, great competition and the players trusted us enough to try doing things a different way," said Head Coach Ron Macosko, "This achievement belongs to everyone associated with Schreiner Golf because we're all one big family."
Led by Kendall and Keener, the Mountaineers held off the challenge to win the title in just the school's second appearance in the finals. Schreiner played in the 2013 National Tournament and finished 15th out of 41 teams. Four members of that team were back for the second go-round and used last year's experience well.
Kendall, a junior, who was second last year after 36 holes only to struggle on the final two days, carried the ball all the way to the end this time around. His four-round total of 288 (70-70-74-74) trailed only Bobby Holden from the Redlands for the individual title. Keener, also a junior, shot rounds of 70-73-72-75 and finished third overall.
"Cheyne and Jimmy really were our horses this week, but we have great depth that has helped us time and again," said Macosko. "Although those five guys delivered the title, everyone (on this team) had a piece of this championship."
Junior Zach Oliver finished 40th after rounds of 74-75-80-76 while freshman Matt McClung, the only Schreiner player not a part of last year's championships, was 46th after going 71-76-80-80. Sophomore Phil Stewart was 62nd after posting 74-75-76-85.
Southwestern, the other SCAC school in the field, earned a top 15 finish. Cowart, the leading individual performer for hte Pirates, battled a tough final round, but still recorded the highest finish in program history as he helped lead the Southwestern University men's golf team to its best finish at the Championship, 11th overall.
The Pirates posted a team score of 1212 as their highest total of the tournament came on Friday with a 314 after finishing Thursday's suspended round with a 303. The score was five strokes from earning a top 10 finish.
For the Mountaineers, the title caps a memorable spring season for the team. Schreiner won four of its six tournaments, including three of the last four. In the other two tournaments, the Mountaineers finished runner-up. For the spring season, Schreiner posted a record of 36-2 against teams ranked in the national Top 25.
They completely dominated a strong field at the SCAC Championship, setting a new SCAC 54-hole record of 866 (+2) to cruise to their first SCAC Title and second straight conference title.
For Schreiner, it was the school's first ever National Championship in any sport.
"It's been an amazing run over the years to watch the program grow and get better and the future looks even better," added Macosko. "It's going to feel great bringing the NCAA trophy to Kerrville."
