Chico State had wrested the lead away from Florida Southern on Thursday, but one day later, the Moccasins grabbed it back. Only one stroke separated the two teams going into the final round, and the Mocs made up the difference right away and never surrendered the lead once they had it. Matt Stauch had a lot to do with that, as the senior birdied two of his first three holes and added another one on #6 that put him at three-under for the round. The Mocs also got a birdie from Jude Eustaquio on his first hole that officially put them ahead to stay.

Stauch continued to carry the Mocs the rest of the day, and it was fitting that his birdie putt on 18 was the final punch that allowed Florida Southern to celebrate its 12th national championship overall, the fifth under current head coach Doug Gordin, and their first since 2000. No other team has won more than six national championships at the Division II level.

Florida Southern was never far from first place at any point in the tournament, but Nova Southeastern and Chico State each had their day at the top of the standings. In the end, the Sharks really weren’t a factor, and the Mocs’ final round score of 307 was enough to widen the gap between them and Chico State. Central Missouri made it interesting though, with three eagles on the back nine that got them within five strokes; but the Mules finished ahead of Florida Southern and could only watch as the Moccasins did what they had to do.

The Mocs ended up having to count 81’s from both Eustaqio and Peter Creighton, but Chico State had a pair of 80’s to nearly balance it out. It was the first time all week Florida Southern counted a score over 80, and only the second time Chico State had to do it. Still, Creighton made his presence felt earlier with back-to-back rounds of 75 to start the tournament, and Eustaqio picked the Mocs up with a 72 in round two before his one-under par on the back nine Wednesday helped keep the Mocs within striking distance at the end of round three.

Where the Mocs really made up ground on Friday was with Shelton Smith and Stauch. Smith shot a two-over par 74 and Stauch finished with a 71. That was a total of 11 strokes better than Chico State’s top two counters and dead even with the top two from Central Missouri, which also had to count an 80.

The Moccasins didn’t count Danny Evelyn’s 82, but like Eustaqio and Creighton, Evelyn was part of the reason Florida Southern was even within striking distance going into Friday. His 73 on Thursday was the Mocs’ best score of the day and helped keep them within one shot of the lead.

The final round was historic before it ever began. Due to impending thunderstorms in the afternoon, the Division II Men’s Golf Committee utilized the administrative cut option under NCAA guidelines, and trimmed the field from 20 teams to 15, giving them a better chance of completing a full round. Also making the cut were the top seven golfers not on one of the 15 remaining teams, and tee times were adjusted to ensure an earlier finish.

It was the first time on record the NCAA was forced to use that option, and put schools like Florida Southern in a dangerous position. If the final round was not completed in its entirety, the score would revert back to the end of the third round, and Chico State would be crowned national champion.

Fortunately for the Moccasins, that didn’t happen. The round was completed, though higher winds than the first three days certainly played a role in Friday’s scores. Florida Southern, Chico State, Nova Southeastern and Western New Mexico, four of the top five teams entering the final round, all had their highest scores of the tournament.

Gordin’s assessment of the course early in the week proved to be correct too, as he called it one of the most difficult he’s seen in Division II golf. It was the first time since 1995 the national champion had a final score over 1,200. Florida Southern finished with a 4-day total of 1,206.

While Central Missouri was seven shots behind and Chico State eight back, defending national champion Sonoma State was in fourth place with a 10-stroke deficit. Barry, which had been ranked #1 in the country entering the finals, finished fifth with a margin of 12 strokes, and Nova Southeastern was sixth, 20 strokes behind Florida Southern.

The individual champion was individual qualifier Cyril Bouniol of Abilene Christian who was the only golfer in the field to break par. Holding on to his lead from Thursday, Bouniol shot a three-under 285 for the tournament, six strokes better than Justin Yoder of Central Missouri. Florida Southern’s Matt Stauch was third with a 293, trailing the Bouniol by eight shots.

Shelton Smith was tied for eighth with a 299, Jude Eustaquio tied for 30th with a 310, and both Danny Evelyn and Peter Creighton tied for 41st with scores of 312.

– Courtesy Florida Southern Athletics

“The season we just had is historic for NCAA Division II women’s golf,” said NSU head coach Kevin Marsh. “Nine team titles, including a conference and regional championship, eight individual titles, our fourth NCAA Division II National Player of the Year, our third NCAA Division II Freshman of the Year, and a team scoring average which was the lowest in Division II history. This is a season these girls and I will remember for the rest of our lives.”

The defending national champion Sharks led from start to finish in the 72-hole NCAA Division II National Championships. NSU raced out to an eight stroke lead after the first round of play and took control of the Championships in the second round by firing a tournament low team score of 285 to distance themselves by 29 strokes from the field. After gaining another six strokes in the third round, the Sharks punctuated their title by adding five more strokes to their lead in the final round to win by a total of 40 strokes.

“Since August there have been questions on a daily basis about the chances to repeat as National Champions and for nine months these girls have responded to every challenge they faced,” Marsh said. “I have not been around a more special group of people and Amanda and I are honored to have the opportunity to coach them each day.”

The top-ranked Sharks (298-285-296-301-1180) defeated No. 2 Rollins (306-306-302-306-1220) by 40-strokes for the title. No. 4 Florida Southern (317-302-303-299-1221) made it three Sunshine State Conference teams atop the leader board while No. 7 Tarleton State (311-305-306-300-1222) and No. 10 Sonoma State (313-305-305-313-1236) rounded out the top five positions.

“This was a great day and a great week in NSU Athletics,” said NSU Director of Athletics Michael Mominey. “Winning back-to-back national championships is a tremendous accomplishment. This is truly a credit to Kevin and assistant coach Amanda Brown who have done an outstanding job with these young ladies. They are not only two-time Champions; they are great ambassadors for the department and the University. They represent the department in a first-class way on and off the course. Their talent, chemistry, drive and determination to be the best they can is obvious once you watch them play one round of golf and spend time with them.”

While the team led from the get-go, three-time defending NCAA Division II National Player of the Year Sandra Changkija (Jr., Orlando, Fla.) erased a four-shot final round deficit to win the first individual title in NSU women’s golf program history. She finished the tournament at even-par (74-67-71-72-284).

Senior and four-time NGCA All-American Maria Garcia-Austt (Montevideo, Uruguay) tied for fourth place (75-74-78-72-299) while junior Nicole Whitmore (Milton Keyes, Fla.) tied for seventh place (75-75-73-79-302) to have three Sharks finish among the top-10. 2010 NCAA Division II National Freshman of the Year Abbey Gittings (Tamworth, Fla.) tied for 16th place (74-80-74-79-307) and two-time All-American Taylor Collins (Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) came in a tie for 21st place (83-69-79-78-309) to conclude the scoring for Nova Southeastern. The Sharks were the only team to have three players place in the top-10 and to have all five players place among the top-21.

Competing as an individual, Newberry’s Maria Luz Besio came in second place (71-68-69-82-290) after leading for the first three rounds. Rollins’ Joanna Coe came in third place (74-70-77-74-295), 11 strokes behind Changkija.

– Courtesy NSU Athletics

In the Eights race, Western Washington pulled out to a winning lead in the second 500 meters. The Vikings were less than half a second off the pace set by Mercyhurst in the first 500 meters but pulled out to a nearly four-second margin by the midway point of the race. Western Washington crossed the finish line in a time of 6:52.60, while the Lakers had a time of 6:57.22. Seattle Pacific (7:00.22) and Philadelphia University (7:05.70) finished third and fourth, respectively.

Nova Southeastern enjoyed a comfortable winning margin in the Division II Fours to win its first individual championship. The Sharks led Mercyhurst and Western Washington by nearly three seconds after just 500 meters and held on to the margin to eventually win by 3.70 seconds with a time of 7:53.64. The Vikings were second in 7:57.34 and the Lakers took third in 7:57.70.

Mercyhurst earned four team points for a third-place finish in the Fours race and nine points for its finish in the Eights competition to finish second in the team standings with 13 points. Nova Southeastern was third with 11 points and Philadelphia University had eight team points and finished fourth.

The two at-large teams in the championship, Dowling and Seattle Pacific, were not eligible to receive team points. Dowling won the Petite Final of the Division II Eights with a time of 7:11.38, coming in just over five seconds ahead of Nova Southeastern.

Western Washington has now won five of the eight Division II Rowing Championships since the events inception in 2002. The Vikings have won nine individual championships.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

Western Washington 18
Mercyhurst 13
Nova Southeastern 11
Philadelphia University 8

–Courtesy Villanova Athletics

Nova Southeastern played consistent golf throughout the tournament, firing a 314 in the first round, a 302 in the second and a 307 in both the third and fourth rounds. Their 302 in the second round was a tournament low.

Individually, University of Indianapolis junior Lyndsay McBride fired a 77 on the final day to claim the 2009 National Championship by two strokes over Pfeiffer University senior Charlene Reid, who posted a 73 during the fourth round, and Nova Southeastern sophomore Sandra Changkija, who carded a 75 on Saturday.

FULL STORY

–Courtesy Findlay Athletics

LIFE IS GRAND: Grand Valley State rose to No. 1 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Division II poll for the first time in school history after putting together a 21-2 mark to open the season for the best start in program history. The Lakers went 5-0 last week led by rightfielder Cody Grice’s offensive production, and senior left-hander Andre Benjamin’s prowess on the mound. The Lakers look to extend their 13-game winning streak at No. 12 Ashland in a GLIAC doubleheader on March 25.

MILLER TIME: Minnesota State’s Danny Miller set a school record with 11 consecutive hits in the first three games against Northern State last weekend, surpassing the previous mark of 10 by Jason Pfingsten set in 1996. The Mavericks have won six straight games, and currently are tied with Wayne State for first place in the NSIC standings after the first weekend of league play.

MILES AHEAD: Nova Southeastern junior Miles Mikolas garnered Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after stifling then-No. 12 Tampa’s offense in a 5-1 complete-game victory last week. The Sharks took two of three games from Tampa after beginning the week with a win over Franklin Pierce, and vaulted up 11 spots to No. 10 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Division II poll for their recent success.

EAGLE FLIES: Southern Indiana’s Alex Thieroff not only turned an incredible week at the plate for the Screaming Eagles, but capped off a four-game series versus Drury with a victory on the mound. The Eagles have won eight of their last nine games, and broke into the latest Collegiate Baseball Division II poll at No. 22 for their efforts.

NOTABLE: Mansfield head coach Harry Hillson recorded his 700th career victory with a 14-13 win against Wilmington University on March 18, becoming only the third head coach in Pennsylvania collegiate baseball history to reach the milestone. He has coached the Mountaineers for 23 seasons … Merrimack freshman right-hander Chris Pinette tossed the first no-hitter in school history as he struck out three batters in a 4-0 victory against Philadelphia on March 21. The Norwood, Mass., native retired the final 12 batters faced, and walked only one hitter in the outing. He was named Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Week for his achievement.

FULL STORY

–Courtesy of NCAA.com

Coe and her Tars teammates will return home with a pair of new accomplishments to add to the storied tradition at the Winter Park, Florida institution.

The freshman from Mays Landing, N.J. retained her lead through the first 54 holes to become the fourth national champion medalist and third-different in school history. Coe ended the tournament with a four-stroke victory and 72-hole total of one under, 287 (71-73-68-75).

Rollins, who will graduate three seniors, rallied from a seven-stroke deficit entering Thursday’s third round to move in a tie with Nova Southeastern as the field entered Friday’s final day. The Tars carried the momentum into the final round for a seven-stroke victory over the Sharks, shooting an 1181 (293-301-293-294). Grand Valley State finished third with a 1221 (314-296-308-303), Ferris State was fourth by three strokes with a 1239 (296-308-320-315) and Tarleton State was fifth with a 1242 (313-310-310-309).

With the victory, a member of the South Region has won the last nine team championships. For Rollins, it is their fifth title in the last six years and Coe is its fourth champion in the last seven years.

FULL STORY

–excerpt courtesy NCAA

Senior team captain, Lindsay Mann-King, was named CRCA All-American for the third time. She was joined by junior stand-out Staci Reynolds. Sophomores Audrey Coon and Gina Auriemma were named CRCA National Scholar-Athletes. This is actually the seventh consecutive trip to nationals for Western. The Vikings competed in the NCAA championship for all divisions in 2001, the varsity eight finishing sixth in its qualifying, repechage and third final races. In 2002, each school raced two eights at nationals. Besides winning the last three national titles, Western placed third at nationals in 2004 and was second in 2002 and 2003. They are coached by WWU alum, John Fuchs. They compete in the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference.