It was a historic day for Ashland University's men's golf team on Wednesday (April 26), as the Eagles defeated Tiffin in the medal match play round of the 2023 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship, 2-0-3, for the program's first conference title in nearly six decades.
Ashland's last conference championship came in 1966 – the athletic department's final year in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.
Wednesday's conference title also means the Eagles automatically qualify for the 2023 NCAA Division II postseason as a team for the first time since 2014. The Midwest/Central super regional will be May 11-13 at The Bridges Golf Course in Winona, Minn.
NOTABLES
- Freshman Carter Mishler had the most impressive win on Wednesday, firing a career-low 66, which is tied for the second-lowest round in the program since 1996-97. He won by nine strokes over David Siegel.
- Senior Logan Thomas earned AU's second win on the day, carding a 69 and taking the match over Matt Flynn by four strokes.
- Another senior, Andrew Kolar, who was the Great Midwest Championship medalist in the 54-hole team play portion of the week, tied his match with Johan Widal after a round of 70.
- Sophomore Matthew McMullen tied Mitchell Brassard, and freshman Dylan Dunn knotted Justin Hand, after both fired matching 72s.
- The Eagles pulled off going from last in the Great Midwest Championship in 2022 to first in 2023.
QUOTABLES
- "I'm just so happy for them," said Ashland head coach Dennis North. "It's all about the players and the hard work, and creating a culture. We recruited the right kids, and created an amazing culture."
- "It wasn't his best spring, and we've been kind of waiting for this moment," North said of Thomas. "It happened on the biggest stage, and it's great."
- "He played like the No. 1 career scoring average leader at Ashland University, didn't he," North said of Kolar. "He was the start of this culture. We were blessed to get him."
- "That's a pretty incredible round of golf," North said of Mishler's round. "That's his first bogey-free round of golf he's ever played."
- Said Mishler, "It's such a surreal moment. That just shows how much work these guys put in to it. We knew we had to put in the work to get where we wanted to go. I just kept the pedal down and didn't let up. I've never been to Minnesota, so there's always a first for everything. We'll see what happens."
- "It's so much fun," Thomas said, "It's something we've been waiting to do ever since I've gotten here. It's just amazing with this group of guys. I knew that I played well pretty much all tournament except for a couple of holes. Just wanted to keep those big numbers out."
- Added Kolar, "It's awesome. It's a goal that we've had all year. It all came together. It was a really good week. After that first round, I just thought I was going to beat everybody. It's a great feeling. We knew we had a chance to do it. It's awesome to be a part of this team."
