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BAY CITY, Mich. -  Ferris State University senior Kyle Wittenbach (Lowell, Mich.) was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men's golf "Athlete of the Week" after claiming medalist honors at the 2010 GLIAC Men's Golf Championship held at the Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club in Grosse Ile, Mich. on Monday.

GLIAC Men’s Golf Athlete of the Week
Kyle Wittenbach - Ferris State University
(SR, Lowell, Mich.)

Ferris State University senior Kyle Wittenbach claimed medalist honors at the 2010 GLIAC Men’s Golf Championship with a two-over par 215 score (75-66-74=215, +2).  Wittenbach became the second Bulldog golfer to take home a first-place individual award as former standout Eric Lilleboe achieved top status at the 2009 GLIAC Championships.  Wittenbach’s efforts helped the Bulldog’s take home the team title after a one-hole playoff win over Wayne State University.

Ashland - AU finished seventh at the GLIAC Championships. The Eagles carded a team score of 927 (+75).   Junior Jay Overy (Grafton, Ohio/Midview) finished fourth. He shot 221 (+8).  Ferris State’s Kyle Wittenbach (215/+2) was the medalist…the Eagles have one event left on their fall schedule. That comes later this week when the Eagles play at the Tiffin Invitational, Oct. 9-10.

Ferris State - Ferris State chose an opportune time to earn a top-five placing as the Bulldogs claimed the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Men's Golf Championships title by defeating Wayne State in a playoff this Monday (Oct. 4) at the Grosse Ile (Mich.) Golf and Country Club course.  Both teams completed regulation play with identical three-round 889-stroke totals (+37) to force a sudden-death playoff.  Host Wayne State rallied from eight strokes down with six holes remaining to tie the Bulldogs for top team honors in the two-day (Oct. 3-4) conference tournament... Ferris State produced an 889 team score as a result of 298, 295, and 296 rounds while Wayne State turned in rounds of 298, 291, and 300 among the 11 conference teams vying for the tournament title.  Grand Valley State and Findlay both carded 904 team scores (+52) to share third-place honors... The GLIAC Championship title represents the 19th in the program's history and the Bulldogs' first since the 2004-05 season.  FSU earned top team laurels in the 2004 league tournament by notching a 917 score (+53) on the Blackberry Patch Golf Club course in Coldwater, Mich... Low team scores typically result in top-notch individual performances and that was certainly the case for Ferris State as senior Kyle Wittenbach (Lowell) claimed medalist honors with a two-over par 215 score (75-66-74=215, +2).  Wittenbach the second Bulldog golfer to take home a first-place individual award as former standout Eric Lilleboe achieved top status at the 2009 GLIAC Championships by netting a four-under 205-stroke total.  Wittenbach tallied three birdies in the third round, which included a pair on the second nine holes, to end up plus three for the round.  His best round of the tournament was in the second as evidenced by five birdies en route to a five-under par 66 score.  Wittenbach's stiffest competition for the top place on the leaderboard came from Wayne State's Eric Johnson, who carded a 219 score (+6).

Findlay - The University of Findlay men’s golf team tied for third place at the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship, which was completed on Monday, October 4 at the Grosse Ile Country Club in Grosse Ile, Michigan... The Oilers tied Grand Valley State University (293, 304, 307 – 904) by firing a 904 (299, 305, 300) while Ferris State University (298, 295, 296 - 889) defeated Wayne State University (298, 291, 300 – 889) in a playoff to capture the conference title... Individually, Joe McGeean led the Oilers by taking third place. McGeean carded a three-round score of 220 (74, 75, 71), which was seven strokes over par... Michael Schmitmeyer also played stellar golf for Findlay as he tied for sixth at the event after posting a 223 (74, 73, 76)... Justin Watren tied for 23rd with a 231 (74, 81, 76), Jeff Mocini tied for 26th after carding a 232 (79, 76, 77) and Logan Cooke tied for 38th with a 239 (77, 81, 81).

Grand Valley State - GVSU tied for third place at the GLIAC Championships on Sunday and Monday, finishing with a team score of 904 (+52) and equaling Findlay’s score. The Lakers entered the tournament as two-time defending conference champions…four GVSU golfers finished in the top-20, led by Travis Shooks (Grand Rapids, Mich.). The junior tied for sixth place with a 223 (+10), as he shot 72-76-75. Senior Josh Burt (Holt, Mich.) used rounds of 76-74-76 for a 226 (+13), tying him for 13th place…a pair of GVSU golfers tied for 18th place, as freshman Chris Cunningham (Milford, Mich.) and junior Nick Gunthorpe (Lansing, Mich.) recorded top-20 finishes with a 229 (+16). Cunningham shot 72-78-79 for his score, while Gunthorpe used rounds of 73-76-80 for his two-day tally…sophomore Chase Olsen (White Pigeon, Mich.) fired a hole-in-one (believed to be just the second in GVSU history – Shooks fired an ace on Sept. 20 at the Great Lakes Region Invitational #1) in Sunday’s opening round on the par-3, 174-yard, 13th hole. Olsen tied for 36th with a 237 (+24) by shooting 78-82-77.

Lake Erie Storm - The Storm placed 11th after competing is its first-ever GLIAC Men’s Golf Championship, posting rounds of 314, 330, and 322 for a 966 total (+114)... LEC was led by  senior C.J. Milo (Painesville, Ohio/Mentor) who tied for 33rd place after carding rounds of 78-78-79 for a  235 total (+22).

Lake Superior State - Lake Superior State placed 10th in the 11-team field at the 2010 GLIAC Championship. Sophomore Brent Vizina (Indian River, Mich.), who was tied for 10th after the first round, shot a 74-81-82—237 to lead LSSU and tie for 36th place. Sophomores Mike Caputo (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) and P.J. Dienes (Traverse City, Mich.) tied for 38th with 239s. Freshman Brandon Vizina (Indian River, Mich.) has the Lakers’ low average of 79.3, followed by freshman Andrew McKenney (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) at 79.7. The Lakers compete Oct. 9-10 at Tiffin.

Northern Michigan -  Tony Bilich shot a two-day total of 228 (72-80-76) to finish in 17th  place at the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Men’s Golf Championship.  As a team the Wildcats finished in ninth place with a score of 949 (313-327-309).  Ferris State University won the GLIAC Championship in a playoff over Wayne State University.   The Bulldogs (298-295-296) and Warriors (298-291-300) each finished with an 889... After Bilich the next ‘Cat on the leader board was Mike Murphy as he tied for 26th with a 232 (80-80-72).   Joe Hansen finished in a tie for 47th as he carded a 242 (78-85-79).  Kyle O’Boyle with a 247 (83-82-82) and Aaaron Shafranski with a 258 (86-89-83) were 52nd and 54th respectively...The ‘Cats conclude the fall portion of its schedule.

Northwood - The Northwood University men's golf team finished sixth at the GLIAC Championships Monday afternoon (October 4)... The three-day, 54-hole event was held at the Grosse Ile Country Club. The course played as a par-71 at 6,828 yards... Northwood shot rounds of 308-305-301 to finish at 914. Ferris State beat Wayne State in a playoff to earn the overall title at 889... The Timberwolves were led by sophomore Blair Turner (Midland, Mich.). He earned a top-10 finish in the event, shooting rounds of 76-73-75 to tie for ninth overall. Nick Prokop (Novi, Mich.) tied for 18th at 229 (81-75-73)... NU will finish its fall season at Tiffin Oct. 9-10.

Ohio Dominican Panthers - Led by a 10th place finish by freshman Alex Nikias (Cincinnati, Ohio), Ohio Dominican's men's golf team finished fifth at the Wittenberg Fall Invitational, played Saturday and Sunday at Windy Knoll Golf Club... Nikias (pictured) followed his first round 73 with a 77 on Sunday as the Panthers finished with a team score of 612. Host Wittenberg won the 16-team event with a 593, while Otterbein's Ben Adams earned medalist honors with a 144. A trio of Panthers finished in a tie for 30th, as sophomore Tyler Sebert (Grove City, Ohio), junior Gary Wright (Warsaw, Ohio) and senior Joshua Wolfe (Galion, Ohio) all fired 154s on the par 71, 6,834 yard course... The Panthers wrap up their fall slate next weekend at the Tiffin Invitational, hosted Saturday and Sunday at Mohawk Country Club.

Saginaw Valley State - The Saginaw Valley State University golf team finished in fifth place at the 2010 GLIAC Men’s Golf Championships, hosted by Wayne State University at the Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club in Grosse Ile, Mich.  The Cardinals finished with a total of 906 (+54), two strokes behind Findlay and Grand Valley State, which both tied for fifth place.  Ferris State defeated Wayne State in a playoff to claim this year’s championship... Senior Nate Kelly (Suttons Bay, Mich.) and sophomore Dan Warner (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) both tied for ninth place overall in the tournament, posting totals of 224 to shoot +11 for the event.  Junior Troy Quenneville (Tecumseh, Ont.) was two strokes back (+13), finishing with a 226.  Red-shirt freshman Adam Hansen (Auburn, Mich./Bay City Western HS) finished with a 235 (+22) to tie for 33rd and senior Mike Horn (Clarkston, Mich.) finished 35th, one stroke behind Hansen with a 236 (+23)... SVSU will take-part in the Kyle Ryman Memorial Tournament, hosted by Tiffin University on October 9-10 at the Mohawk Country Club in Tiffin, Ohio.

Tiffin - Tiffin finished 8th of 11 teams at the GLIAC Championships hosted by Wayne State University, shooting a three-day total of 931, four strokes behind 7th place Ashland... TU opened play in the first round with a 307, good for sixth place, and stayed consistent in round two by firing a 308. The Dragons struggled slightly more on day three, shooting 8 strokes worse with a 316 to drop back to 8th place... Andy Kronander led TU with a 230, firing rounds of 77-75-78, while Jimmy Bell was also very consistent with a 75-78-79 for 232. Jon Klein also stayed with the pack with an opening round 78, a difficult 84 on day two, and then bouncing back with a third round 77 to finish with 239... The bottom two scores for TU had wildly fluctuating scores. Blake DeBruyn opened with 83, improved to 75 on day two, but then fell back to 82 on day three to finish at 240, while Jason Crow opened strong with 77, then dropped off to 80 and then 86 in the final round to finish with 243.

Wayne State - An exciting conclusion to the 2010 GLIAC Men’s Golf Championship, hosted by Wayne State University at Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club, ultimately resulted in a second place finish for the Warriors as they lost to Ferris State in a one-hole playoff for the conference crown... After Wayne State’s four-stroke lead disappeared early in the third round Monday, the Warriors battled back from an eight-stroke deficit with six holes remaining to tie the Bulldogs... The five-man teams were split into two groups and a playoff was conducted on the No. 1 hole. Ferris State (298-295-296--889) emerged victorious to earn its 20th conference title and first since 2004... Wayne State (298-291-300--889) and Ferris State finished 15 strokes ahead of Grand Valley State (293-304-207--904) and Findlay (299-305-300--904) who shared third place. Saginaw Valley State came in fifth (300-300-306--906) ... Medalist honors went to FSU’s Kyle Wittenbach, who followed up on his tournament-low 66 in the second round with a 74 on Monday afternoon (215). He finished with a four-shot lead over Eric Johnson (Marquette, Mich.), who carded a 74 in the final round (219)... Aaron Peterson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) jumped 13 spots up the leaderboard with an even-par 71, placing him 12th overall (225)... Hagan Risner (Garden City, Mich.), who led all players with 10 birdies in the tournament, and Steve Fedewa (Howell, Mich.) were among those tied for 13th (226), while Jack Mitroka (Riverview, Mich.) finished in a tie for 23rd (231)... The second-place showing for WSU was its best since 2003, when the Warriors defeated the Bulldogs for the GLIAC title at Lake Shore in Erie, Pa. Wayne State had finished third each of the last two years... Wayne State will wrap up the fall season next week, playing in the Tiffin and Gannon Invitationals.