Bearcats Finish 9th at West Cup in Southern California
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
LA VERNE, Calif. -- Willamette University completed the West Cup in ninth place with a 54-hole score of 932 as the tournament concluded on Tuesday, March 28 at the Sierra La Verne Country Club. Peter Mitzel (Sr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS) of Willamette finished in a five-way tie for 20th place out of 80 golfers.
A total of 15 teams competed in the tournament, which was hosted by University of La Verne (Calif.). The La Verne "B" team added another five golfers who competed as individuals.
La Verne won the team championship with a score of 892 (309-290-293). Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif) was second at 899 (308-300-291) and Trinity University (Texas) placed third at 906 (299-299-308). Fourth place went to Wittenberg University (Ohio) at 908 (300-304-304). University of Redlands was fifth at 915 (296-311-308).
Willamette's score of 932 included a difficult first round of 319, followed by two solid rounds at 305 and 308. The Bearcats, who were 14th after one round, moved into a tie for 10th after two rounds, and advanced one more position during the third round.
The Bearcats were the top Northwest Conference team in the final standings. Pacific Lutheran University was 11th and Linfeld College was 15th.
Mitzel achieved his score of 229 by shooting a 79 in the first round, following by scores of 73 and 77. Kenneth Sheldon (So., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willamette also, finished strong, as he tied for 29th at 232. He carded an 84 in the first round, but registered 74 and 75 over the final 36 holes.
Also competing for the Bearcats wee Sam Hinton (So., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS), Tent Jones () and Clark Wilson (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS). Hinton tied for 46th with a total of 235 strokes (77-79-79). Jones and Wilson both finished at 241, with Jones shooting 85-79-77 and Wilson shooting 80-79-82.
As usual, the West Cup included several nationally-ranked teams -- four in the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll this season. It also featured many strong teams from the West Region, including Willamette.
Bailey Brandon of Ferrum College (Va.) won the individual title with a 54-hole score of 4-over-par 217. He shot a tournament-low 68 in the third round to go with a 72 in the first round and a 77 in the second round.
Aaron DiGiamarino of La Verne finished one stroke off the pace at 218 (76-72-70). Redmond Lyons from Trinity was third at 220 (73-76-71). Matt Shuman from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Travis Hindle of Trinity tied for fourth place at 221. Shuman shot 76-76-69, while Hindle carded 73-71-77. Alec Spencer from La Verne took fourth place at 222 (76-71-75)
Four golfers tied for seventh place, all with scores of 223. They were Nate Gray (77-76-70) of California Lutheran University, Jason Brown (78-72-73) of La Verne, Alex Stroes (75-73-75) from Redlands, and Sam Stilwell (72-77-74) from Wittenberg.
Willamette will return to action at the NWC Spring Classic on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15. The tournament will be hosed by University of Puget Sound at Golf Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington.