Lamothe Earns Medalist Honors as Willamette Wins Pacific Spring Tune-up

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

BANKS, ORE. -- Chase Lamothe (Fr., Corvallis, OR/Corvallis HS) won medalist honors with a 2-under-par 70, leading Willamette University to a first place finish at the Pacific Spring Tune-up in men's golf on Sunday, Feb. 23. The Bearcats shot 292 as a team to win the title by eight strokes. The tournament was hosted by Pacific University at Quail Valley Golf Course.

Lamothe achieved the individual championship by one stroke over Drew Groshong from Lewis & Clark College, who carded a 1-under 71. Joshua Mau of Pacific ended the 18-hole event with an even-par 72 to take third place.

Jacob Armelino (Fr., Redding, CA/University Prep) from WU's first team and Steven Rodriguez (So., Red Bluff, CA/Mercy HS) from the second team, each claimed part of a three-way tie for fourth with a 73. Taylor Pirnke from Linfield also completed the course in 73 strokes.

Ryan Kukula (Jr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willamette shot a 74. He tied with Kyle Hargrave of Linfeld for seventh place.

Willamette was followed in the team standings by Linfield College, which earned second place with a score of 300. The Wildcats held a 10-stroke advantage over Pacific in third place at 310. Linfield's "B" team was fourth at 318, with Lewis & Clark fifth at 319 and Willamette's "B" team at 320.

Head Coach Patrick Daugherty entered 12 golfers in the tournament, allowing him to form two teams, with two golfers participating as individuals.

All five golfers on Willamette's first team carded scores between 70 and 77. In addition to Lamothe, Armelino and Kukula, the first team included Peter Mitzel (Fr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS) and Clark Wilson (Fr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS). Mitzel registered a score of 75 to tied for ninth place. Wilson finished in a tie for 11th place with a 77. A total of 34 golfers competed in the event.

The Willamette second team had two golfers in the 70s. Rodriguez led the way with his 73, while Jonathan Ross (Jr., Tukwila, WA/Foster HS) achieved a 77. Jeffrey Lewis (Jr., Eugene, OR/Henry D. Sheldon HS) carded an 84. Josh Echols (Fr., Olympia, WA/Capital HS), who competed as an individual for the Bearcats, also shot an 84.

Willamette's next event on the spring schedule is the Puget Sound Invitational on March 8-9 in Fircrest, Wash. The tournament will be hosted by the University of Puget Sound and will be held at the Fircrest Country Club.