Detroit Women and Valparaiso Men Capture 2013 Horizon League Golf Championship Titles

The Detroit women’s golf team and the Valparaiso men’s golf team began the third and final round on Sunday in first place and were still there at the end of the day as the squads captured the 2013 Horizon League Golf Championships held at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

The Titans began Sunday with a nine-stroke lead over second-place Youngstown State and UDM never allowed the Penguins to close on their lead as Detroit shot a third-round best 305 on the final 18 holes to win by 20 strokes.

The Titans had four players finish on the All-Tournament team, led by Christina Thorne who finished 3^rd on the individual leaderboard. Conference Player of the Year Lindsey Lammers shot a third-round best 72 to finish fourth. Olivia Richards was fifth and Allison Sears finished in a tie for sixth.

Youngstown State finished in second, six shots ahead of Cleveland State. Valparaiso was fourth, four shots behind the Vikings. Loyola finished in fifth, Green Bay in sixth and UIC rounded out the field in seventh.

Allison Mitzel of Youngstown State fired a final round 73 to finish with a three-day score of 221 to win the women’s individual title by seven strokes over Valparaiso’s Kelly Voigt. Joining Mitzel, Voigt and the four Titans on the All-Tournament team was Cleveland State’s Ariel Sparrow and Allyson Hackman, who both finished in a tie for sixth.

On the men’s side, Valparaiso and Cleveland State broke away from rest of the field, but they couldn’t shake each other as the two teams exchanged the lead throughout the day.

The two teams were tied with each other through 51 holes, but the Crusaders closed the round strong to edge in front of the Vikings to win the title by four shots.

Thomas Wettstein paced the Crusaders effort with rounds of 72-72-70 to win the tournament with a three-round score of two-under-par, 214. Kyle Henning joined Wettstein in the top-five as he finished in a tie for fifth. Austin Gaugert finished in 12^th and Brad Winters finished in 14^th.

Cleveland State fell four shots shy of winning the title despite having four of its golfers finish in the top-10. Two-time HL Player of the Year Andrew Bailey was the individual leader through two rounds, but a final round 76 allowed Wettstein to pass him up for the individual title. Bailey finished in second with a three-round score of 218. Michael Balcar finished in a tie for third with a three-day score of 222, while Jonathon Riemer and Brendan Byrne finished in a tie for eighth with a score of 224.

Detroit shot a third-round best 291 to move from fifth to third in the final team rankings. Simon Reyers and Brendan Leonard paced the Titans effort as they both finished in a tie for fifth.

Loyola finished fourth, Green Bay fifth, Youngstown State sixth and Wright State was seventh.

Youngstown State's Brandon Pluchinsky fired a final round 66 - birdieing the final six holes - to tie the Horizon League Championship Record for lowest round.

The Titan women and Crusader men will represent the Horizon League in the 2013 NCAA Golf Championships.2013 Horizon League Golf Championships
Men’s Team
1. Valparaiso 301-289-294—884
2. Cleveland State 300-292-296—888
3. Detroit 311-299-291—901
4. Loyola 299-305-302—906
5. Green Bay 304-302-304—910
6. Youngstown State 312-309-290—911
7. Wright State 317-310-309—936

Women’s Team
1. Detroit 312-303-305—920
2. Youngstown State 321-303-316—940
3. Cleveland State 312-319-315—946
4. Valparaiso 321-312-317—950
5. Loyola 327-314-333—974
6. Green Bay 331-332-333—996
7. UIC 338-335-335—1008

Men’s All-Tournament Team
1. Thomas Wettstein, Valparaiso 72-72-70—214
2. Andrew Bailey, Cleveland State 70-72-76—218
T3. Michael Balcar, Cleveland State 75-71-76—222
T3. Nick Dennis, Loyola 72-76-74—222
T5. Simon Reyers, Detroit 78-74-71—223
T5. Brendan Leonard, Detroit 76-71-76—223
T5. Kyle Henning, Valparaiso 77-71-75—223

Women’s All-Tournament Team
1. Alison Mitzel, Youngstown State 77-71-73—221
2. Kelly Voigt, Valparaiso 76-73-79—228
3. Christina Thorne, Detroit 76-75-78—229
4. Lindsey Lammers, Detroit 79-79-72—230
5. Olivia Richards, Detroit 77-74-81—232
T6. Allison Sears, Detroit 81-75-77—233
T6. Ariel Sparrow, Cleveland State 80-75-78—233
T6. Allyson Hackman, Cleveland State 73-82-78—233