Kukula Finishes in Second Place at Willamette Cup with a 72

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

BANKS, ORE. -- Ryan Kukula (So.,Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willamette University shot an even-par 72 at Quail Valley Golf Course on Sunday, April 14 to take second place among 17 golfers at the Willamette Cup, hosted by Pacific University.

Linfield College won the team title with a score of 295. Willamette was second at 313 and Pacific finished third at 327.

Medalist honors went to Adam Ruben from Linfield, who shot a 68 for 4-under par. He was the only golfer to register an 18-hole score below par, as he took first place by four strokes over Kukula. Third place went to Taylor Klopp of Linfield with a 74, while Kyle Hargrave, also from Linfield finished fourth at 75.

The Wildcats placed four golfers in the top five after Tommy Schmitz took fifth place with a 78. Steven Rodriguez (Fr., Red Bluff, CA/Mercy HS) from Willamette was sixth after carding a 79. Collin Fuller (Fr., Grants Pass, OR/Grants Pass HS) of WU shot 80 for the round and tied Joshua Mau from Pacific for seventh place.

Rounding out Willamette's team score was Jeffrey Lewis (So., Eugene, OR/Henry D. Sheldon HS) with an 82. Also golfing for the Bearcats were Jonathan Ross (So., Tukwila, WA/Foster HS), who carded an 84, and Evan Fleming (Fr., Park City, UT/Park City HS) who shot an 85.

Every golfer in the competition scored in the 60s, 70s or 80s.

Willamette will host the Northwest Conference Championship Tournament at the Oregon Golf Association (OGA) Golf Course on April 20-21. The NWC Championship Tournament counts for one-half of the overall NWC title, with the other half split evenly between the NWC Fall Classic and the NWC Spring Classic, which have already been played.