NORMAN, Olka. – The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Tuesday announced the Division III PING All-Region Teams as well as the Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars and four Gustavus men’s golfers received accolades. Chris Captain (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) and Ben Hauge (Fy., Ramsey, Minn.) were named to the 15-member All-Central Region Team, while Captain, Alec Aunan (Jr., Rock Island, Ill.), and Sam Majka (Sr., Wayzata, Minn.) were named All-America Scholars.
Captain receives his third consecutive honor from PING – once on the Division III All-Freshman Team and the last two years on the All-Region Team. This season, Captain led the Gusties as the No. 1 golfer having played in 22 rounds and averaging 74.5 strokes per round, which ranked second in the league. The three-time All-MIAC selection placed in the top-five three times and in the top-10 four times. His best performance happened at the conference meet as Captain took third place, carding a six-over-par 222, while earning a spot on the All-Championship Team. Captain was also named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.
After becoming the third consecutive Gustie to be named MIAC Freshman of the Year, Hauge makes his debut on the All-Region Team. Hauge played in 22 rounds this season and averaged 75.3 strokes per round, which was seventh best in the MIAC. The Anoka product claimed one top-five finish and placed in the top-10 four times. His best performance of the season occurred at the Bobby Krig Invite as Hauge took fourth of 93 golfers firing a six-over-par 218 with a low round of 70. In the fall, Hauge earned a spot on the MIAC All-Championship Team by taking ninth of 50 golfers at the conference meet, carding a nine-over-par 225.
Captain, Aunan, and Majka showed balance on the links and in the classroom as All-America Scholars. To be eligible for Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status an individual must be a junior or senior academically and compete in at least two full years at the collegiate level, participate in 50-percent of his team’s competitive rounds or compete in the NCAA Championships, have a stroke average under 79.0 in Division III and maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.
Aunan played in 22 rounds and averaged 75.7 strokes per round, which ranked 12th in the league. The All-MIAC selection finished in the top-five twice and in the top-10 three times. His best performance of the year was at the Twin Cities Classic where Aunan took third place out of 90 golfers, carding a three-over-par 217. His first round score of 67 tied for third best in program history, two strokes behind the record of 65.
Majka played in 21 rounds and averaged 77.6 stroke per round. His best round of the season occurred in the fall opener at the Transylvania Fall Invite, where he posted a three-round total of 224. The two-year golfer at Gustavus finished 13th at the MIAC Championships with a score of 229, just missing out on All-Championship Team honors.
In addition, Alex Koopmeiners (Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.) was added to the Srixon/Cleveland All-America Scholar list. During his senior season, Koopmeiners played in 15 rounds, averaging a score of 76.2. Twice Koopmeiners posted a season-low round of 73, first as he finished inside the top-10 at the Blugold Invitational followed by the final round of his career at the Saint John’s Spring Invitational.