Chris Captain became the fourth freshman to take home individual medalist honors at the MIAC Championships thanks to his rock solid play over the weekend. Photo courtesy of Matt Higgins.
St. Peter, Minn. – Prior to weekend, the Gustavus Adolphus men’s golf program was home to 16 individuals who had claimed a total of 23 individual medalist honors at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Following day three of this season’s conference meet, another name can be added to the record book. Playing with poise and maturity well beyond his years, Gustavus freshman Chris Captain (Rochester, Minn.) claimed the 2014 MIAC Individual Championship after shooting 217 (+1) over the course of the three-day event.
As a team, Gustavus shot a tournament-best 300 (+12) on day three to finish in second place behind Bethel University. The Gusties registered a three-day team score of 912 (+48), winding up six strokes back of the MIAC Champion Royals who tallied a 906 (+42) by the conclusion of Monday’s round.
“Mentally, Chris was a rock star,” said head Coach Scott Moe his Century High School product. “He was in the zone again and remained focused on the shot in front of him. He didn’t worry about they guys in his group, instead, stayed focused on his yardages and notes. He thrives in this type of atmosphere so it was great to see him go out and rise to the occasion.”
Captain led the field after shooting a one-under 71 on day one, then dropped into second after carding a four-over 76 on day two. On day three, the rookie came out on fire. With an eagle on hole four, he was three-under through four. Although he recorded a pair of bogeys over the remaining holes of the front nine, Captain was one-under at the turn.
Captain shakes hands with MIAC Executive Director Dan McKane at the post-meet awards ceremony. Photo courtesy of Matt Higgins.
“I started off well and was three-under through four,” said Captain. “After a few mistakes on six and eight, I was able to par nine and was feeling good going into the back nine. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was at compared to the field but based on how I was playing knew I was in pretty good position.”
“Chris knew that the back nine was where he had to make his move,” said Moe about Captain’s finish. “He and Ryan were tied with six holes left and he went out and took care of business. Chris was simply rock solid down the stretch. He was always in the middle of the fairway and was able to two-putt for par the whole way through.”
Captain carded four consecutive pars, then birdied hole 14 before capping off the tournament with four more pars. Thanks to his steady play down the backstretch, the Rochester, Minnesota native turned in a two-under 70 to win the tournament by three strokes. Captain was able to edge out Saint John’s Ryan Gallagher who, after shooting a 76 (+4) on day three, finished second with a 220 (+4).
“Before each round and before we take to the course, I have an idea about where my opportunities are going to be,” commented Captain. “At Bunker, certain holes are going to be challenging so par is a good score. You have to take advantage of the par fives because you end with four tough holes on the back nine. That stretch can either make or break a round, so I just kept with my game plan and tried to stay in the moment. Fortunately it all worked out.”
“Weather conditions weren’t ideal and there were some challenging pins. A lot of golfers let such elements control their game – not Chris. Instead, he thrives in stimulating atmospheres like this,” added Moe. “Chris made sure he was making the correct decisions – hitting it to the smart part of the green and finishing with a two-putt instead of challenging and pushing for birdies.”
Of Gustavus’s 23 previous MIAC individual medalists, three have earned the crown as freshman. Previous Gustavus rookies to take gold at the MIAC Championships include Ajeetesh Sandhu ’11 in 2007, J.P. Prenevost ’00 in 1996, and John Bleyhl ’92 in 1988. The last Gustie to reach the top of the podium was Alex Kolquist ’13 who won the 2012 title.
“This is our biggest tournament of the fall and it feels great to be able to go out and turn in my best performance of the season,” concluded Captain. “Unfortunately, we came up a little short as a team. We were faced with challenging conditions and I was pleased with our effort and perseverance throughout the weekend. We would have obviously liked to win today, but feel good about where we are and were proud to represent Gustavus golf.”
Rounding out the top three was Saint John’s in third with a 917 (+53). Concordia’s Coy Papachek completed the individual podium in third with a 222 (+6).
The 2014 All-Conference Team. Photo Courtesy of Matt Higgins.
Coach Moe was pleased with his squad’s performance and was proud of its start to the day.
“We got off to a good start and despite playing really well early, we were still six shots back of Bethel,” he said. “We had a couple of hiccups and recorded some bogeys that we probably shouldn’t have and that’s when we started to press instead of taking what the course gave us. On this course you survive by making pars, and that just got away from us a little today.”
After shooting a 307 (+19) to finish day one in a tie for second place alongside Bethel, the Gusties shot a 305 (+17) to end up in second with a 612 (+36) heading into Monday.
“Our effort today and over the weekend was fantastic,” stated Moe. “This is a young group that battled all weekend and handled the pressure well. Bethel was simply too good this weekend, but this tournament is only going to make us better as we move forward.”
Matt Rastetter (Fr., Maple Grove, Minn.) turned in the team’s next best score on day three with a four-over 76. Matt Spier (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) and Andrew Krasaway (Jr., Hermantown, Minn.) both recorded five-over 77s, while Andrew Brandt (Jr., Medina, Minn.) finished the weekend with an 82 (+10).
When the dust settled and the final scores were in, two Gusties found themselves inside the top 15 including Spier in 13th with a 232 (+16) and Brandt in 14th with a 233 (+17). Rastetter came in 22nd with a 235 (+19), and Krasway rounded out the team in 35th with a 240 (+24).
FROM THE MIAC
The final team scores are listed below, along with the top 10 individual finishers. Those top 10 finishers were named to the MIAC All-Championship Team, and they will receive All-Conference honors (along with five at-large selections) when the MIAC Golf Awards are announced in the spring. The All-Championship team and team champions were honored at an awards ceremony.
Fans can re-live all the action from an outstanding three days of golf on the MIAC Golf Championships web site, which includes complete results, recaps and photo galleries (with all photos available for purchase online). Fans can interact on social media on the MIAC’s Facebook page, or on Twitter using the hashtag #MIACgolf.