RIVERSIDE, Iowa - The Ashford University men's golf team opened the final day of the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships in fifth, but the Saints made sure to make their presence felt in their final ever MCC competition.
AU, opening the day in fifth, bolted up the leaderboard with their team score of 297 to finish in third place of the ten teams competing.
"The guys bounced back after the disaster we had at the end of round two," said Head Coach Josh Heiple. "Third place was not our goal going into this weekend, but when I take a look back and see the laundry list of program records and firsts that we accomplished I can't be unhappy. With every varsity player returning next season, and some solid newcomers we have signed, the future is bright for AU golf."
Sabah, Malaysia-native Chien Hau Tan finished eighth individually by shooting a final day 72, to record a total score of 220 (75-73-72) for the championships.
Junior Dan Balgooyen took 11th overall with his 225 (74-79-72) while Jonathan LaRue placed 19th with a 229 (75-78-76). Ross Milne and Trent Specht rounded out AU's score with individual tallies of 231 (77-77-77) and 238 (81-77-80), respectively.
The Vikings of Grand View crushed the field en route to punching their ticket for the 61st Annual NAIA Championships to be held May 23-25 in Salem, Ore. at Creekside Country Club. GVU shot an 857 as a team, winning the title by 22 strokes over second place Mount Mercy.
St. Ambrose and Viterbo rounded out the top five teams.
Ashford ends the year with a record of 107-49-2 Overall and a NAIA Record of 66-22.
