ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s golf team will travel to Coon Rapids, Minnesota this weekend to compete in the 2015 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships being held Saturday, Oct. 3 through Monday, Oct. 5 at Bunker Hills Golf Course.
The Gustie men are coming off a second place finish in last year’s championships that surprised many in the conference. Chris Captain (So., Rochester, Minn.) led Gustavus in its push, becoming the fourth Gustie first-year in the history of the program to earn individual medalist honors at the MIAC Championships.
“We feel really good heading into the weekend,” said Coach Scott Moe. “Our depth is starting to show and we have any number of guys that could feasibly win the tournament. We finished second last year, which was not a surprise to us, and we return this year with players that have valuable MIAC tournament experience, which helps.”
Gustavus will enter the weekend with four golfers with lower stroke averages than the Gusties’ top golfer did last season (76.8) headed into the championships. Captain leads that field with a stroke average of 73.6 (+2) after 662 strokes and nine rounds to go along with two top-10 finishes, including an individual medal. First-year Max Savini (Anoka, Minn.) is next in line with a 75 (+3) average (nine rounds, 675 strokes) and one top ten finish. Alec Aunan (So., Rock Island, Ill.) is next with a 76.3 (687 strokes, nine rounds), followed by Andrew Krasaway (Sr., Hermantown, Minn.) (76.7, nine rounds), and rounded out with Matt Spier (Sr., Prior Lake, Minn.) (77.1, nine rounds).
“Three days is a lot of golf, and we need to be in a good spot mentally and with our games, which I think we are there right now,” said Moe. “We can’t control what any of the competition does, only ourselves, and if we focus on that and play one hole at a time, we will be in great shape. I feel Bunker Hills is a good setup for our team. Chris won last year, which was not a surprise for me, and I know he, and all of our players will go in with a great game plan, which when we execute, makes us very tough.”
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FROM THE MIAC
The three-day, 54-hole MIAC Golf Championships will tee off Saturday at 11:28 a.m. at Bunker Hills. Sunday’s second round will also tee off at 11:28 a.m., and Monday’s final round will tee off at 9 a.m. Spectators are welcome to attend and there is no admission fee, and spectators are encouraged to read and follow the tournament’s spectator rules.
There will be a short awards ceremony following Monday’s final round to honor the top teams and individuals. The championship team will receive the MIAC championship plaque, as well as the conference’s automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division III Golf Championships. The top 10 individual finishers will be named to the All-Championship team, and will be automatically eligible for All-Conference honors in the spring.
The MIAC has set up several links to help fans follow the action, which are listed below: