Photo by Doug Fitzgerald
Brian Morfeld shot a 3-under par 68 Wednesday as UCCS overcame an 11-stroke deficit to win the NCAA Division II Central/West Regional.
UCCS wins NCAA Central/West Regional, will compete for national championship
LINCOLN, Neb. – If you’re going to nationals, you may as well do it in style.
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs shot an even-par 284 Wednesday to win the NCAA Division II Central/West Regional outright. With the win, the Mountain Lions qualified to compete for the national championship for the fourth time in the past eight years.
The NCAA Division II National Championship will be held May 19-22 at Loomis Trail Gold Club in Blaine, Wash.
Brian Morfeld shot a 3-under par 68 to lead the Mountain Lions on Wednesday, while Tyler Bishop shot a 1-under par 70. David Cosel, Riley Andrews and Chris Shoop each shot 73.
Bishop finished the tournament with a three-round score of 211 (2-under par) to tie Cal State-Stanislaus’ Danny Hoff for second individually. Jarin Todd of Sonoma State took home individual medalist honors with a score of 208.
For UCCS, Morfeld finished the tournament in sixth place at 213. He was followed by Cosel (218), Shoop (222) and Andrews (224).
The Mountain Lions were in second place after Monday’s first round and third after Tuesday’s second round. They overcame an 11-stroke deficit to second-round leader Sonoma State to grab the win.
Also heading to nationals from the NCAA’s Central and West Regions will be the next four lowest scorers: Cal State-Stanislaus, Sonoma State, Cal State-San Bernardino and Grand Canyon. Stanislaus and Sonoma each shot a three-round score of 866, three strokes behind UCCS. San Bernardino was fourth at 875, while Grand Canyon shot a tournament-best 282 Wednesday to sneak into fifth place with an 888.
Just missing the cut were Sonoma State, which missed qualifying for nationals by a single stroke. Cal State-Monterey Bay was a meager three strokes out of contention.
The Central/West Regional was a departure from the past. Previously, the winner of each regional would qualify for nationals while the rest of the teams hoped to be awarded one of 12 at-large berths. This year, the top five teams in the Regional, regardless of their actual region, qualified for nationals.
