DU Men Win First, DU Women Win Fifth Straight SBC Title

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. — The wait is over for the University of Denver men’s golf team. Junior Daniel Wax (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) shot a final round 2-under par 70 to finish second and sophomore Espen Kofstad (Oslo, Norway) finished tied for fourth, leading the Pioneers to their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship Wednesday at the Fighting Joe Course on the Robert Trent Jones Trail. The Pioneers shot a final round 1-over par 289 for a 54-hole score of 853 (11-under par), holding off a furious final round rally by New Orleans to claim the school’s first-ever SBC championship in men’s golf. The Privateers shot a final round 8-under par 280 on Wednesday but came up just one shot short, finishing with a 54-hole score of 854. South Alabama finished third (856), Western Kentucky fourth (857) and Louisiana-Lafayette, after entering the final round in second place, finished fifth at 863.

 “I just couldn’t be more proud of the effort it took for us to win this tournament,” head coach Eric Hoos said. “We’ve come close to winning this before and for us to put it all together and finally win one for our University is really something special for our team. It’s something I’ll always remember.”

Wax was solid all three days for the Pioneers, playing under-par golf in all three rounds to finish with a 54-hole score of 207 (9-under par) and alone in second place, his career low finish. The junior shot a final-round 2-under par 70 Wednesday that featured three birdies and just one bogey. In all three rounds, Wax had just three bogeys and 12 birdies.

Johnny Caldwell of South Alabama took medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 205.

Kofstad shot a final-round 4-under par 68 on Wednesday, moving up one position on the leaderboard to finish in a tie for fourth place with a 54-hole score of 209 (7-under par). His final round 68 was tied with four other players for the second-best round of the day and featured six birdies and just two bogeys.

Next for the Pioneers was senior Scott Tashie (Memphis, Tenn.), who shot a final round 75 Wednesday to finish with a 54-hole score of 219 (3-over par) and in a tie for 22nd place. Junior Jeff Koprivetz (Yorba Linda, Calif.) finished at 4-over par for the tournament to finish in a tie for 26th and fellow junior Chris Gilman (Yorba Linda, Calif.) finished tied for 39th to round out DU’s scoring.

With its first-ever conference title, DU secured an automatic berth in next month’s NCAA Regional Championship.

Click here for the complete results.

 

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. — The history of women’s golf in the Sun Belt Conference is being rewritten by the University of Denver women’s golf team. Super sophomore Stephanie Sherlock (Barrie, Ontario) shot a career-low 7-under par 65 Wednesday, setting a conference record with a 54-hole score of 208 for a 10-shot individual victory, leading the Pioneers to their fifth-consecutive Sun Belt Conference Championship, the first time a school has accomplished that feat in the annals of the SBC. DU finished with a 54-hole score of 872 (8-over par), a whopping 42 shots better than second place Arkansas-Little Rock (914). South Alabama (917) finished second and Middle Tennessee (918) and Florida International 918) finished tied for fourth.

Sherlock was dominant on Wednesday, pouring in seven birdies with nary a bogey in breaking her personal record of 68 and tying the school record set earlier this season. She won her second consecutive SBC title and grabbed her fifth career title in just her second season. Florida International’s Paula Hurtado finished second, 10 strokes back at 2-over par 218.

Also playing well for the Pioneers in the tournament was junior Katie Kempter (Albuquerque, N.M.), who shot a final-round even par 72 on Wednesday to finish with a 54-hole score of 220 (4-over par) and in a tie for fourth place. Kempter finished 12 shots back of Sherlock.

The Pioneers had its other three players all finish in the top-10, as senior Chelsea Benton (Englewood, Colo.) shot a 54-hole score of 223 (7-over par) and finished alone in seventh place. 

Rounding out DU’s conference-winning scores was freshman Ellie Givens (Darlington, England) and junior Dawn Shockley (Estes Park, Colo.), who both finished tied for ninth with 54-hole scores of 227.

"I couldn't be more pleased with our performance," head coach Sammie Chergo said. "We came out today and wanted to play better after yesterday and we did that. This entire week was a total team effort one through five. For Stephanie, it was really nice to see her finish like that. It was great to see someone who works as hard as she does get rewarded with a conference championship."

The Pioneers won their first conference championship in 2004 and have won each of the last four, breaking Lamar’s conference record of five in a row.

 

Click here for complete results.