Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

After matching a school-best fourth place finish at the MIAC Championships, the team is looking to equal, if not surpass that mark this year.

With the departures of 2008 All-MIAC golfer Bjorn Hanson as well as Tony Weber, the Royals have been dependent on last year's MIAC Freshman of the Year, Mason Swenson (So., Eagan, Minn.), who is averaging a 74.8 through five rounds this season. He's had two sub-par rounds, including a 69 in the second round of the Augsburg Invitational. Michael Yocum (Sr., Mora, Minn.) had two very good rounds at the Saint John's Invitational and is averaging 75.6 thus far. Other golfers that look to factor into Bethel's scoring are Charlie Cook (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) and Toby Robinson (So., Mankato, Minn.).

"We need to come out and have a good first round to set the tone for the rest of the championships," said Head Coach Joel Johnson. "I feel like we've got a good team, but our focus needs to be there from the first tee to the last green. We know it's going to be a challenge, but some of our younger guys have already made big improvements in their approach and I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do for us."

The Knights have high hopes for this year’s MIAC Championships. In his third year as head coach, Jerry Ericksen has assembled his deepest, most talented squad yet. After spending the previous year studying abroad in England, Alec Roman (Sr./Portland, Ore./Catlin Gabel School) returned as the Knights’ top golfer and looks to earn All-Conference honors again after accomplishing the feat in 2007. Roman has shot a 75 in two of his four rounds this fall. His scoring average of 78.5 is just outside the MIAC’s top-20.

The improvement and consistency of the back end of the Carleton roster has been a bright spot for the Knights this season. After several years of occasionally counting scores in the 90s, the worst score that the Knights have counted this year is an 85. In fact, the scoring averages of the rest of the squad are within stroke of each other.

Sophomore Brian Gilmore (Edina, Minn.) is looking to recapture the success he had last year at the MIAC Championships as a rookie. He finished tied for 19th and had the fourth lowest three-day total among first-year golfers. Consistency has been one of the strengths of Gilmore’s game as he is the only Knight to have his score count in every round this season.

Turner Wadington (So./St. Charles, Ill./Elgin Academy) was medalist at the Knights’ first meet against Saint Mary’s University after firing a career-low 79 at The Bridges in Winona. He finished 46th at last year’s MIAC Championships.

Senior Trent Wells (Rochester, Minn./Century) has shown a steady improvement and has played in every meet over his four years with the Knights. His best finish at the MIAC Championships was 38th in 2007. Rookie Brian Chesley (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) has provided very heady play for a first-year golfer. The difference between his best round and worst round this fall is all of two strokes.

Senior Jordan Narvey (Portage la Prairie, Manitoba/Portage Collegiate Institute) and junior Michael Hantho (Edina, Minn.) may also grab one of the final spots in the Knights’ lineup and seize their first opportunities to play in the championship.

The Knights were a pair of unfortunate finishes away from placing in the middle of the pack at the Saint John’s Invitational so the potential is there. If the Knights play up to their capabilities, Carleton could earn its best finish since 2002 at the MIAC Championships.

There is an air of excitement surrounding the 2009 Concordia-Moorhead men’s golf team. The Cobbers are coming off their best regular-season in recent history and are poised to make a run at the top of the conference at the MIAC Championship Meet. Concordia is buoyed by the fact that they have posted a pair of school records entering the conference meet. The Cobbers broke the school record for low team score in a single round when they fired a 282 at the Jamestown Invitational and also posted a second team score in the 280’s when they fired a 288 at the NDSU Erv Kaiser Invite. It’s the first time in program history they have had two rounds in the same season under 290.

To go along with their team success, the Cobbers have also had individuals post several low numbers. Three different Concordia golfers have posted five scores in the 60’s this season – another team first. Junior Zach Kappes (Moorhead, Minn.) and sophomore Pat Deitz (Moorhead, Minn.) both tied the school record of 68 when they matched that score at the Jamestown Invitational. For their efforts they were named the MIAC Co-Golfers of the Week on Sept. 8. Kappes also fired a 69 in the first round of the Concordia Invite. Joining Kappes and Deitz in the sub-70 group is freshman Andrew Whitchurch (Litchfield, Minn.). Whitchurch has shot a pair of 69’s this season. He opened the year with a 69 at the Jamestown Invitational and then backed it up with the same score in the second round of the NDSU Erv Kaiser Invite.     

Kappes, Deitz and Whitchurch are a part of a group of eight CC players that are all averaging under 79.0. The Cobbers also have 10 golfers with averages in the 70’s. Kappes leads the team with a 74.1 average and Deitz is close behind at 74.3. Whitchurch checks in at No.3 with a 75.4 stroke average. Rounding out the top five for the Cobbers at the MIAC Meet will be super senior Erik Weiss (Moorhead, Minn.) and sophomore Tyler Champ (Champlin, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian HS). Weiss has posted a top 10 finish this season and has posted the most consistent season of his career. Champ is averaging 77.3 strokes per round this year and is coming off his best finish of the year. He led the Cobbers at the St. Olaf Invite by finishing sixth with a two-round total of 150.     

When you graduate six seniors, including three All-Americans, a college golf program is left with one option: reload.

Last fall, the Johnnies won the 2008 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship, defeating second-place Gustavus Adolphus by 28 strokes. The 2008 title was SJU’s eighth overall and fourth in the last five seasons. On the national scene, the Johnnies finished eighth overall at the 2009 NCAA Division III Championship.

SJU needs to replace All-Americans Joe Daly, Joey Polingo and three-time MIAC Most Valuable Player Joe Schoolmeesters. The Johnnies return, however, two All-MIAC players and one of the conference’s top freshmen from a year ago. Senior Ben Vangsness (Alexandria, Minn.) finished fourth overall at the MIAC Championship last season and posted a 76.2 stroke average in 25 rounds of play. Junior Ben Cahill (Grand Rapids, Minn.) also earned All-MIAC honors by tying for seventh with a 228 (+12). He completed the 2008-09 season with a 76.4 stroke average in 21 rounds of golf. Look for Vangsness, Cahill, and sophomore Tony Krogen (Marshall, Minn.), who averaged 76.9 strokes in 16 rounds of play last season, to lead the Johnnies this season. SJU will also boast a deep and talented freshman class that hopes to contribute to the starting five and continue SJU’s tradition of success.

Saint John’s has done a great job at reloading, tying for second at its first meet in Bemidji Sept. 14 and winning its own fall invitational on Sept. 20 by 11 strokes. The Johnnies are led by freshman standout Dennis Granath (Bandhagen, Sweden/Farsta Gymnasium). Granath earned medalist honors the first two meets SJU has participated in this year. In Bemidji, at his first collegiate golf tournament, Granath earned medalist honors by four strokes with a six-under par 66 in the final round to finish with a 135 (-9). Granath’s 66 tied for second-best all-time, one stroke from the school record of 65 recorded by Josh Sherlin at, coincidentally, the 2003 Bemidji State Invitational. For that performance Granath was named the MIAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Week. At SJU’s fal invitational, Granath earned medalist honors for the second consecutive weekend with a two-day total of 145 (+1), including a one-under par 71 on the final day.

Granath has a strong team behind him that includes Vangsness, Cahill, Krogen, and fellow freshman Mark Giorgi (Red Wing, Minn.). Krogen tied for third overall with a 149 (+5) two day total at the SJU Invitational, while Vangsness tied for 10^th with a 152 (+8).

Head coach Bob Alpers, the 2009 MIAC Coach of the Year, begins his 17^th season as head golf coach at Saint John’s in 2009-10. Alpers has guided the Johnnies to seven MIAC titles and 10 consecutive NCAA appearances, including back-to-back national championships in 2007 and 2008. Of the Johnnies’ 10 consecutive national appearances, SJU has finished in the Top 10 eight times, which is second-best in all of Division III. Saint John’s tied for the most national championships (two) in the past 10 years.