NCAA Division II Men's Golf Midwest/Central Super Regional
AXTELL, Neb. -- The Ferris State University men's golf team fired its best round of the year on Wednesday (May 10) as the Bulldogs stormed up the leaderboard to earn a berth into the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championships by garnering runner-up honors at the Midwest/Central Super Regional held in Axtell, Neb.
The Bulldogs shot an 18-under par 270 score in the third and final round of the 54-hole tournament at Awarii Dunes Golf Course to advance to the national championships for the first time since 2010. Ferris State moved up six spots on the final day with an impressive round in the 20-team event. The top four teams advanced to nationals from the super regional event.
FSU will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships slated for May 22-26 at Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, Fla. The finals will be hosted by the Sunshine State Conference and the Central Florida Sports Commission. The Bulldogs will be making their 15th all-time national championships appearance and first in seven years.
In Wednesday's final round, the Bulldogs racked up 25 birdies or eagles in a historic round of competition. FSU's 270 figure was the best of any of the 20 competing teams over any of the three rounds of competition and also broke the course record.
All five Ferris State golfers shot under par over the final 18 holes of action with senior Ben Cook firing an impressive eight-under 64 total to finish tied for seventh in the field. He had shot identical rounds of 71 each of the first two days and closed the tournament with a 206 total. Cook's highlights also included an ace on the par three, fifth hole in the last round.
The Bulldogs' Jack Weller placed tied for 20th overall after shooting a one-under 71 in the final round to net a 210 figure for the three days. Weller shot a four-under 68 in round one before back-to-back 71's the last two days.
Meanwhile, both Seth Terpstra and Andrew Hammett finished tied for 27th at 211 for the tournament. Terpstra carded a 68 in the third round after shooting 71 and 72 the first two days, respectively. Hammett finished the event with his low round by recording a 67 on Wednesday after posting a 73 in round one and a 71 in round two.
Finally, Ryan Bayer came in tied for 49th in the field at 215 overall. His final round was a 71 after carding a 74 on Monday and a 70 on Tuesday.
Ferris State was taking part in the NCAA Division II Super Regional for the 15th consecutive year. The Midwest/Central Men's Regional was hosted by the University of Nebraska at Kearney and consisted of 10 teams from the Midwest Region along with 10 from the Central Region. Four individuals from each region also competed in the 54-hole tournament.
Ferris State's current 15-year NCAA Championship appearance streak in men's golf ranks as one of the longest active stretches in the country. FSU recorded a school-record seventh-place finish in its last trip to the national championships in 2010.
At the National Championships, all 20 advancing eams and eight individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play. Following 54 holes of stroke play, an individual champion will be declared along with finishers 2-10 based on cumulative total score and any applicable tiebreakers. The top eight teams after 54 holes of play will be placed into a bracket and seeded based on 54-hole scores for the medal/match play portion of the competition to determine the team champion.
