CSU Men Three-Peat, Oakland Women Claim First #HLGolf Championship

The third and final round of the Horizon League Golf Championship concluded Sunday at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. wtih Cleveland State claiming its third consecutive men's title and Oakland winning its first women's championship.

Cleveland State shot a final round 300 on the men's side to hold off Oakland and fast-charging Wright State for the title. The Vikings were in second place after the first round, but shot 287 in the second round to take the lead and while the Golden Grizzlies and Raiders kept the pressure on CSU in the final round, the Vikings never reliniquished the lead to win by eight shots over second place, Oakland.

Joey Krecic led CSU with a second-place finish, firing one-under-par 71 in all three rounds to finish with a score of 213. Patrick Luth was next on the Vikings with a three day score of 215 for third place. Blake Prince finished in 19th with a total of 231, Mitchell Moore and Paul Minko tied for 27th place with scores of 236. The title is Cleveland State's eighth Horizon League men's golf championship, breaking the tie for most in HL history. The title is also the third consecutive championship for CSU making the Vikings the first team since Xavier in 1990-93 to win three consecutive championships.

Wright State shot a team-best 289 in the final round to finish in third, one shot back of Oakland. Youngstown State finished fourth, Detroit fifth, Valparaiso sixth, Northern Kentucky seventh and Green Bay eighth.

Ryan Wenzler of Wright State took medalist honors with a three-round score of 211. He opened the championship with an even-par 72 and improved his total everyday. He shot a 70 in the second round to move into a tie for second and closed the championship with a three-under-par 69 to finish two shots ahead of Krecic. As the Horizon League medalist, Wenzler will receive a bid into an NCAA Regional.

Oakland led wire-to-wire to win its first Horizon League title. The Golden Grizzlies entered the final round leading Northern Kentucky by five shots and while the Norse outshot Oakland on Sunday, 320-322, it wasn't enough to make up the difference as Oakland won by three shots.It was a team effort for the Golden Grizzlies as they didn't have any player finish in the top five, but saw all five of its players finish in the top-12. Fiona Schmidt led Oakland with a sixth place finish after scoring a three-round total of 234. Elle Nichols finished in seventh with a total score of 236. Morgan Smith was next in eighth place with a three-round total of 237. Maddie Zack finished in a tie for 10th place at 239 and Alyssa Albright finished in 12th with a total score of 240.

UIC's Phon Angwarawong battled back from a first day 79 to win women's individual medalist honors. The UIC senior shot a 74 in the second round - the best second round score of any women's player - to move into third and then shot a round-best 73 in the final round to win the event by two shots over defending champion, Emily Dixon of Youngstown State. Cleveland State's Allyson Hackman finished in third and Macy Wright and Ryleigh Waltz finished in a tie for fourth place.

The Cleveland State men's golf team and Oakland women's golf team will represent the Horizon League in the NCAA Championship. Oakland will learn its NCAA destination Monday, April 25, at 6 p.m. ET. The selection show will be televised on the Golf Channel. The CSU men will find out its NCAA Regional location on Thursday, May 5 at 9:30 a.m. ET on Golf Channel.

Men's Team Standings
1. Cleveland State - 295-287-300--882
2. Oakland - 291-298-301--890
3. Wright State - 307-295-289--891
4. Youngstown State - 308-303-294--905
5. Detroit - 313-303-301--917
6. Valparaiso - 309-304-307--920
7. Northern Kentucky - 309-310-306--925
8. Green Bay - 320-312-303--935

Men's All-Tournament Team (Top Five Individual Finishers)
1. Ryan Wenzler, Wright State - 72-70-69--211
2. Joey Krecic, Clevelan-d State - 71-71-71--213
3. Patrick Luth, Cleveland State - 74-71-70--215
4. Wil Wittmann, Detroit - 70-76-71--217
5. Jake Kneen, Oakland - 73-68-77--218

Women's Team Standings
1. Oakland - 311-311-322--944
2. Northern Kentucky - 314-313-320--947
3. Youngstown State - 330-311-317--958
4. Cleveland State - 323-319-326--968
5. UIC - 330-323-321--974
6. Valparaiso - 325-332-329--986
7. Detroit - 328-329-333--990
8. Green Bay - 345-326--344--1015

Women's All-Tournament Team (Top 5 Individual Finishers)
1. Phon Angwarawong, UIC - 79-74--73--226
2. Emily Dixon, Youngstown State - 75-76-78--229
3. Allyson Hackman, Cleveland State - 77-78--77--232
t4. Macy Wright, Northern Kentucky - 73-74-86--233
t4. Ryleigh Waltz, Northern Kentucky - 78-79-76--233