The Wichita State men’s golf team captured its fourth Missouri Valley Conference Championship in the past five years during tournament play April 28-29 in Silvis, Ill.
The victory put the Shockers on the road to the NCAA Division I Golf Championship held May 27-30 in Stillwater, Okla.
In Illinois, the Shockers overcame a six-stroke deficit to defeat last year’s champion, Illinois State, by two strokes. Southwest Missouri State and Drake tied for third place in the tournament.
The Shockers were led by sophomore Ty Cline, who fired rounds of 72, 70 and 70 strokes in the 54-hole tournament and earned medallist honors, edging past Northern Iowa’s Mike Lewis. Lewis shot a tournament-low score of 68.
Cline was one of three Shockers selected to The Valley’s All-Conference team. Joining Cline were senior Julien Trudeau and sophomore Judd Easterling. Trudeau had the lowest stroke average, 72.65, of any player in the MVC this season. Senior Jason Novascone and junior Jonathan May also competed in the tournament.
Head coach Grier Jones, who is in his eighth season at Wichita State, was named MVC Coach of the Year at the tournament. It is Jones’ third Coach of the Year honor. Under Jones, the Shockers have won three previous conference titles: 1999, 2000 and 2001.
After winning the MVC title, the Shockers finished as one of the Top 10 teams at the Central Regional — and headed on to the NCAA Finals in Oklahoma, where they ended one of the most memorable seasons in recent history with an 18th-place finish in the 30-team tournament. It was the first time in 2003 that WSU as a team did not finish in the Top 10. Before the NCAA Championship, the Shockers won four team titles.
At the finals, Easterling led WSU individually. Entering the final round, he was tied for ninth, but shot an eight-over par 80 during the final 18 holes and finished tied for 26th overall in the field of 155 players. In the final round, Easterling, along with May, recorded a team-best three birdies each. May finished in 47th place, while Novascone and Trudeau tied for 71st. Cline tied for 86th. The Shockers had not participated in the national tournament since 1979. “The guys gave me 100 percent of their effort,” Jones says.
Clemson University won the tournament, defeating host Oklahoma State University by two strokes.
