By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's golf team controls its own destiny in the battle for the Northwest Conference championship as the Bearcats prepare for the NWC Spring Classic set for this weekend at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington.
"I'm very excited," Willamette Head Coach Patrick Daugherty said. "The team is coming off a really great spring break tournament in which we had some good success."
In golf, the NWC determines its champion with a point system involving three tournaments -- the NWC Fall Classic, NWC Spring Classic and NWC Tournament. Points are awarded according to where a team places at each tournament.
For the NWC Fall Classic, 8 points went to the winning team, with 7 points for second place, 6 points for third, etc. Whitworth University took first place with a score of 605 over 36 holes and received 8 points. Willamette finished second at 613 and earned 7 points. Pacific Lutheran University was third at 628 and earned 6 points.
George Fox University received 5 points, with University of Puget Sound at 4 points, Linfield College with 3 points, and Lewis & Clark College with 2 points. Whitman College claimed 1 point, and Pacific University received no points.
Scoring for the NWC Spring Classic will be the same, with 8 points going to the winning team. Points will double for the NWC Tournament, with 16 points for first place, 14 for second place, etc. The leader in overall points following the NWC Tournament will win the 2015-16 NWC Championship. Last year, Whitworth won the team title with 30 points and Willamette placed second with 29 points.
If Willamette wins the Spring Classic and also wins the NWC Tournament, the Bearcats are assured of winning the 2015-16 NWC title regardless of where other teams finish. It's possible for Willamette to win the title after placing first in one tournament, or even without winning a tournament, but those scenarios depend on where other teams finish in both events.
The Bearcats have had a strong season to far. Willamette has won or tied for the team title at five of eight tournament, while placing second once and third once. In addition, the Bearcats took fifth place at the prestigious West Cup in La Verne, California, which featured some of the top teams in NCAA Division III.
"The spring is such a longer season that at this point we feel like, or at least I do, that we have been practicing for months and are ready to get to some conference competition," Daugherty said. "Not to say that the tournaments we have played in don't mean anything. They do, and our success is built upon those tournaments and experiences. I definitely get the vibe from the golfers that they are ready to compete at the next level."
Willamette continues to have excellent depth on the team. Five individuals have been Willamette's top finisher or tied for the team's top result at one or more tournaments.
Bearcat golfers have earned four individual championships this season, with Trent Jones (Fr., Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS) winning at the Pacific Fall Classic, Clark Wilson (Jr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) taking first place at the Whitworth Invitational, and Chase Lamothe (Sr., Corvallis, OR/Corvallis HS) finishing first at the Willamette Cup and the Lewis & Clark Invitational.
Steven Rodriguez (Sr., Red Bluff, CA/Mercy HS) and Sam Hinton (Fr., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS) also have led the Bearcats or tied for the team's low score at one more events.
"Since being back (from the West Cup), we've had a solid two weeks of practice," Daugherty noted. "It's been very focused, and task oriented. We have one more stage of preparation and that is our practice round on the day before the event. After that, all that is left to do is compete: rely on all the skills and drills and work they've been putting into practice. Hopefully those things carry us through the weekend."
