Men's Golf Moment of the Year
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University won the Northwest Conference Fall Classic in men's golf by a margin of nine strokes on Oct. 26-27, 2013, with the Bearcats taking first place and second place in the individual standings, while two WU golfers were part of a five-way tie for third. It was a tournament where Willamette received plenty of great performances.
The Bearcats finished the 36-hole event with a team score of 587 at Stone Creek Golf Club in Oregon City, Ore. Willamette carded the tournament's low team score in the first round with a 287 and then shot 300 in the second round.
Pacific Lutheran University took second place at 596, with 304 in the first round and 292 in the second round. University of Puget Sound was third at 606 (304-302).
Whitworth University was fourth at 608 (302-306), while Linfield College was fifth at 626 (314-312). The standings also included Lewis & Clark College in sixth at 635 (323-312), Pacific University in seventh at 664 (327-337), Whitman College in eighth at 665 (335-330) and George Fox University in ninth at 675 (334-341).
Ryan Kukula (Jr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willamette won the individual title with a score of 143. He shot the low round of the tournament with a 5-under-par 67 on the first day. He was the only golfer to break the 70-mark in either round. Kukula shot 76 in the second round and achieved the victory by four strokes. Kukula also won the NWC Fall Classic in 2012.
Jacob Armelino (Fr., Redding, CA/University Prep) took second place for the Bearcats at 147. He carded a 73 in the first round and registered a 74 in the second round. Chase Lamothe (Fr., Corvallis, OR/Corvallis HS) and Clark Wilson (Fr., Ocean Park, WA/ Ilwaco HS), both from Willamette, tied for third place at 149. Lamothe shot 72-77, while Wilson shot 76-73.
Also involved in the tie for third were Adam Bean of UPS (75-74), Dustin Hegge of PLU (77-72) and Kevin McCrossin of PLU (74-75).
Jonathan Ross (Jr., Tukwila, WA/Foster HS) also competed for Willamette. He finished at 156 after earning a 75 in the first round and an 81 in the second round.
Later in the 2013-14 season, the Bearcats placed second at the NWC Spring Classic and took fourth place at the NWC Tournament. Results from the Fall Classic, Spring Classic and NWC Tournament were used to determine the final NWC standings. Willamette finished third overall, trailing only Pacific Lutheran and Whitworth.
Kukula earned First Team All-NWC honors for the second consecutive season. Wilson and Peter Mitzel (Fr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS) each received Second Team All-NWC recognition.
Ryan Kukula took first place at the NWC Fall Classic. He went on to earn First Team All-NWC honors for the second year in a row.
