SAN ANTONIO (April 29-30, 2019) – For the second year in a row, the Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's golf team has captured the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Championships, which were played at the Republic Golf Course. The Saints played in the tournament as part of the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC).
The Saints defeated the University of Victoria – British Columbia by three strokes and will get set for the NAIA Men's Golf National Championships later in May.
Head Coach Alan E. Baxter commented, "All year, we thought we were better than we were playing. The guys worked so, so hard the last five weeks. I am happy for them. We have not finished yet, as there is much left to be written. We appreciate all the support. On to nationals. GO SAINTS!"
The Saints shot an 897 with rounds of 294, 304 and 299. Victoria finished with a 900 (311/290/299), followed by the University of St. Thomas at 901 (307/301/293), the University of Houston-Victoria at 917 (301/305/311), the University of the Southwest at 923 (302/311/310), College of the Ozarks at 995 (343/324/328), Crowley Ridge College at 1026 (343/345/338) and Haskell Indian Nations University at 1073 (354/359/360). Indiana University – Northwest and Northern New Mexico College did not record scores.
There was a four-way tie for the individual medal between Max Murchison from Victoria, Peter Thorseth from St. Thomas, Bradley McCaleb from St. Thomas and Zhao Yang Gu (FR/Weihai, Shandong, China) from OLLU. The tiebreaker playoff resulted in Murchison capturing the individual medalist award and earning 2019 A.I.I. Men's Golf Player of the Year. He shot a 6-over par 219 (78/69/72) score.
The overall 2019 Association of Independent Institutions Men's Golf Championship awards are as follows:
Player of the Year: Max Murchison, University of Victoria – British Columbia
Coach of the Year: Alan E. Baxter, Our Lady of the Lake University
A.I.I. All-Conference Team:
Zhao Yang Gu, Our Lady of the Lake University
Steve Landry (SR/Cibolo, Texas), Our Lady of the Lake University
Bradley McCaleb, University of St. Thomas
Max Murchison, University of Victoria – British Columbia
Peter Thorseth, University of St. Thomas
Champions of Character for OLLU: Steve Landry
The RRAC All-Conference awards are as follows:
Coaches of the Year: All RRAC Coaches
Newcomer of the Year: Zhao Yang Gu, Our Lady of the Lake University
MVP – Peter Thorseth, University of St. Thomas
Champions of Character for OLLU: Steve Landry
Peter Thorseth, University of St. Thomas
Bradley McCaleb, University of St. Thomas
Zhao Yang Gu, Our Lady of the Lake University
Steve Landry, Our Lady of the Lake University
Graeme Brunet, University of the Southwest
Louis Flynn (SR/Surrey, England), Our Lady of the Lake University
Ryan Morant, University of Houston-Victoria
OLLU individual results
Leading the way for the Saints was Zhao Yang Gu, who shot a 219 (72/75/72) for a tie for first. He was followed by Steve Landry at 221 (74/73/74) in a tie for sixth, Kane Ybarra (JR/San Antonio, Texas) at 227 (73/78/76) for ninth place, Louis Flynn at 232 (75/80/77) for a tie for 15th and Raul Gutierrez (FR/San Antonio, Texas) at 238 (79/78/81) for 26th place. Joshua Sturt (FR/Portsmouth, England) shot a 229 (77/78/74) for 12th place and Daniel Jones (FR/Comfort, Texas) shot a 235 (78/79/78) for 25th place – both played as individuals.
What's next
The Saints will prepare for the 68th Annual NAIA National Championship Tournament May 21-24 at Las Sendes Golf Club in Mesa Ariz.