Championship Central |
GLVCSN
INDIANAPOLIS – It took two years, but Maryville University captured its second-straight Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Men’s Golf Championship on Wednesday, following a nail-biting win over the University of Indianapolis at Fox Run Golf Club in Eureka, Missouri.
Despite a year-long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second-seeded Saints repeated as GLVC Champions by beating the top-seeded Greyhounds for the second time, scoring a 3.5-1.5 victory in the final round of the medal/match play format, to earn the league’s automatic qualifying berth into NCAA Championship action.
Today’s final battle, which marked 108 holes of golf played over five days, was a rematch of last year’s final in which fourth-seeded Maryville beat top-seeded UIndy in a tiebreaker.
In the opening head-to-head match, UIndy’s Erik Edwards and Maryville’s Keenan Flemming tied with identical scores of 79 to earn a half point for their teams. Edwards was holding the lead for most of the round, but Flemming made up ground on the last three holes, shooting one less stroke on each to bring their scores even.
The Saints then responded with its first full point thanks to Austin Fauser, holding on for the one-stroke win over Hounds’ Cam Carroll, 76-77, in the second group.
In the third pairing, UIndy’s Ian Carroll held an advantage most of the round, but Maryville’s Jake Newman forged a comeback over the final couple of holes with a birdie on 17 and par on 18, compared to Carroll’s par and bogey. Newman’s 77 bested Carroll’s 75 by two strokes for the second full point for Maryville and the 2.5-.5 lead.
Saints’ Alex Locke, who finished second overall in the individual race, earned the match-clinching point over UIndy’s Oliver Mast with his 2-under-par 70. Mast played a 72 for par, which helped put the contest out of reach for UIndy with just one group left.
In the final match, UIndy’s Keegan Bronnenberg came out on top in the anchor group, besting Maryville’s Will Holan, 73-70, which included an eagle on hole 16’s par 5.
With the win, Maryville became just the second No. 2 seed to win the GLVC Championship since the advent of the medal/match play format in 2012. Ironically, UIndy earned the GLVC title as the 2-seed in 2016.
Under the direction of head coach Scott Thomas in his first year at the helm, the Saints’ league title marks the fourth overall GLVC Championship since becoming a member of the Conference, joining the feats of the first men’s golf championship team in 2019, as well as the 2011-12 women’s basketball team and 2018 men’s soccer squad.
Match Play Championship
No. 2 Maryville def. No. 2 Indianapolis, 3.5-1.5
M1 – Erik Edwards, UINDY (79) tied Keenan Flemming, MU (79)
M2 – Cam Carroll, UINDY (77) def. Austin Fauser, MU (76)
M3 – Jake Newman, MU (77) def. Ian Carroll, UINDY (75)
M4 – Alex Locke, MU (70) def. Oliver Mast, UINDY (72)
M5 – Keenan Bronnenberg, UINDY (70) def. Will Holan, MU (73)