Bearcats Win NWC Tournament, but Whitworth Claims Conference Title

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

SUN RIVER, ORE. -- Willamette University won the 2015 Northwest Conference Tournament by 16 strokes, as the 36-hole event concluded on Saturday, April 26 at Crosswater Golf Course. Whitworth University took second place in the tournament and edged out Willamette for the overall NWC Championship by a single point.

Clark Wilson (So., Ocean Park, WA/ Ilwaco HS) of Willamette was the individual champion at the NWC Tournament with a 1-under-par total of 143. He shot a 71 in the first round on Saturday and added a 72 in the second round on Sunday.

Willamette earned the NWC Tournament title at 602 (299-303). Whitworth matched Willamette on the second day to finish second at 618 (315-303). Linfield College, which earned the low round of the weekend with a 291 on Sunday, placed third at 621. The Wildcats carded a score of 330 on the first day. George Fox University was fourth at 624 (317-307).

Pacific Lutheran University, which was tied with Whitworth for second place after 18 holes, dropped to fifth place at the end of the tournament with a score of 629 (315-314). Whitman College took sixth at 645 (338-307), University of Puget Sound was seventh at 648 (332-316), Pacific University was eighth at 675 (343-332) and Lewis & Clark was ninth at 745 (384-361).

Each year, the NWC uses three tournaments to determine the overall team champion. The NWC Fall Classic is worth one-fourth of the title and the NWC Spring Classic is worth one-fourth. The NWC Tournament counts for the final half of the title. Points are assigned on an 8-7-6-5, etc. basis at the Fall Classic and Spring Classic, and on a 16-14-12-10, etc. basis at the NWC Tournament.

Whitworth won the NWC Championship with 30 points by winning the Fall Classic and the Spring Classic before placing second at the NWC Tournament. Willamette took second at 29 points with a second place finish at the Fall Classic, third at the Spring Classic and first at the NWC Tournament.

Linfield and Pacific tied for third place in the conference with 21 points. George Fox was fifth at 17, with Puget Sound in sixth at 12, Whitman in seventh at 8, Pacific in eighth with 4 and Lewis & Clark in ninth with 2.

"Two years in a row (of nearly winning the NWC title) ... but I'm extremely proud of what we have accomplished in two years," Willamette Head Coach Patrick Daugherty said. "We have totally changed a (team) culture and brought Willamette golf back. I'm blessed to be a part of it."

Wilson took first at the NWC Tournament by four strokes. Taylor Klopp of Linfield was second at 147 (78-69). His 69 in the second round was the low score of the weekend. Justin Lee from Pacific Lutheran was third at 148. Ryan Kukula (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willamette and Scott Martin of Whitman tied for fourth at 150. Kukula shot 73-77 and Martin shot 77-73.

Andrew Grove of George Fox shot 79-73 and Samson Martinez of Whitworth shot 77-75 to tie for sixth at 152. Andrew Dodge from Whitworth placed eighth at 153 (80-73), while Drew Groshong of Lewis & Clark was ninth at 154 (81-73).

Peter Mitzel (So., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS) from Willamette and Daniel Hoffman of Whitman tied for 10th place. Mitzel carded 78-77--155 and Hoffman shot 82-73--155.

Wilson, Kukula and Mitzel led a strong overall performance by the Bearcats. Jonathan Ross (Sr., Tukwila, WA/Foster HS) added a score of 157 to place 15th after shooting 80 in the first round and 77 in the second round. Steven Rodriguez (Jr., Red Bluff, CA/Mercy HS) shot 158 with a 77 and an 81, as he tied for 16th out of 43 golfers.

After the tournament, the 2015 All-NWC Men's Golf Team was announced. Kukula and Wilson each received First Team All-NWC recognition, along with Klopp of Linfield, Martin from Whitman, Martinez from Whitworth, Groshong from Lewis & Clark, Grove of George Fox and Lee of Pacific Lutheran.

Kukula was named First Team All-NWC for the third consecutive season. He was chosen the NWC Player of the Year in 2013. Wilson was an All-NWC selection for the second year in a row after receiving Second Team All-NWC accolades in 2014.

Golfers earning Second Team All-NWC honors this spring were Dodge and Oliver Rudnicki of Whitworth, Hoffman from Whitman and Mitchell Baldridge of Pacific Lutheran.