St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s golf team is set to host the 2013 Twin Cities Classic this weekend North of the Twin Cities and south within the Minnesota River Valley . The Twin Cities Classic is a three-day meet beginning on Saturday, Sept. 28 and finishing on Monday, Sept. 30. The tournament will begin at the Links at Northfork in Ramsey on Saturday. Day two will be held at the Elk River Golf Club in Elk River on Sunday, and day three will take place at the Le Sueur Country Club in Le Sueur on Monday.
Teams expected to compete in this year’s Twin Cities Classic include Augsburg College, Bethel University, Buena Vista University, Carleton College, Concordia College, Luther College, University of Manitoba, Milwaukee School of Engineering, University of Nebraska Wesleyan, Simpson College, Saint John’s University, St. Olaf College, University of St. Thomas, Wartburg College, and UW-Eau Claire.
The opening round of the tournament will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Gustavus, Saint John’s, St. Thomas, and UW-Eau Claire will tee off on hole one, while Nebraska Wesleyan, Concordia, Luther and St. Olaf will start on the 10th tee.
The Gustavus men’s golf team enters the weekend looking to reclaim its title form last season’s Twin Cities Classic. The 2012 Gusties won last year’s event with a three-day team score of 879 (+15), finishing five shots in front of second place Manitoba who totaled an 844 (+20). Nebraska Wesleyan and St. Thomas rounded out the podium in a tie for third with 889s (+25).
Top individuals at the meet last season included Charlie Boyechko of Manitoba, Rory Doll of Nebraska Wesleyan, and Trevor Gervais `13 of Gustavus. Boyechko won the meet with a three-under-par 213, while Doll and Gervais tied for second with one-under-par 215s.
Top returning performers from Gustavus’s first team last year include Tyler McMorrow (Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.) and Andrew Oakes (Sr., Hermantown, Minn.). McMorrow led Scott Moe’s top five with an even par 216 to take fourth, and Oakes fired a three-over 219 to finish eighth.
The Gustavus men’s golf team is in need of a turnaround this weekend after finishing 16th at the Tournament Town Championships held last weekend in Greensboro, N.C. After shooting a 303 on day one and sitting in sixth place, Gustavus followed with a 320 on day two to end up with a team-total of 623 (+17). McMorrow was Gustavus’s top finisher at the tournament, placing 10th with a 74-74-148 (+4).
The Twin Cities Classic has an added element of importance because it is Gustavus’s last competition before defending its crown at the 2013 MIAC Championships set to take place on Oct. 5-7 at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids, Minn.
Scores for this weekend’s tournament will be posted on the Gustavus athletics website following each round on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.