2016 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships Website (coming soon)

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan men's golf team will play in its 11th consecutive NCAA Division III championships, being held May 16 to 19 at at Mission Inn Resort & Club, in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, and hosted by Oglethorpe University and Central Florida Sports Commission.

The Illinois Wesleyan men's golf team is in the nationals as a result of winning the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament, the ninth time IWU has received the league's automatic bid (others were 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016). IWU was an at-large selection in 2011 and 2007, its first time in the NCAA Division III tourney. The Titans, No. 15 in the latest Golf Coaches Association rankings, finished 11th in the 2016 championships. The school's highest finish ever in an NCAA golf tournament was a second place showing in 2011.
 
Playing for Illinois Wesleyan in the 2017 tournament will be junior Conner O'Neil (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame Academy), sophomores Ben Johnson (Downers Grove, Ill. / Benet Academy) and Drew Pershing (Washington, Ill. / Washington Community HS) and freshmen Jonathan Nocek (Bloomingdale, Ill. / St. Francis HS) and Daniel Cole (Northbrook, Ill. / Glenbrook North HS).

O'Neil, who was 27th in last year's NCAA tournament, is IWU's low scorer this season with an average of 72.1 over 19 rounds prior to finishing first in last weekend's CCIW championships.

A total of 215 participants and 42 teams will compete at the 2017 championships as 33 conferences received automatic qualification. Illinois Wesleyan, Methodist, Oglethorpe and Transylvania are the only four teams in the nation who have qualified for the last 11 NCAA Division III tournaments.
 
2016: Illinois Wesleyan finished in 11th place and senior Tim Tynan placed 10th individually at the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships at the Midvale Country Club and Mendon Golf Club in Rochester, N.Y. The Titans (307-308-306-314) had a 314 on the final 18 holes of the championships and finished with a four-day 72-hole score of 1235. Tynan (77-73-72-77) had a four-day total score of 12-over 299 in the 81-player field. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges claimed its first national title in school history at the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, finishing six shots ahead of runner-up Huntingdon College. Evan Cox, of Virginia Wesleyan took home individual medalist honors.

2015: Their highest team score of the week sent Illinois Wesleyan to a ninth place finish in the 2015 NCAA Division III Championships at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center in Greensboro, N.C. The Titans had a final round team score of 23-over par 311 and finished with a score of 1200 in the field of 15 teams. The tournament champion for the 11th time was Methodist University, who finished with a 21-over score of 1173, three shots better than LaGrange College in second. Senior Tony Albano (72-72-76-78) was IWU's low finisher, tying for 31st place with a 10-over 298 score and junior Tim Tynan (73-74-75-77) was a stroke behind at 299 and tied for 34th place.

2014: Illinois Wesleyan finished in 22nd place (of 41), missing the cut of the top 15 after day two of the 2014 NCAA Division III Championship tournament at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center in Greensboro, N.C. The Titans had a two-day total of 32-over par 610 (303-307) after a second day team score of 17-over par 307 playing on the par 72, 6,770-yard West Course. It ended a string of six straight final round appearances for Illinois Wesleyan as the last time an IWU team missed the cut in the NCAA tournament was in 2007.

2013: A difficult final day sent the Illinois Wesleyan men's golf team into a tie for ninth place in the four-round NCAA Division III national golf championships at the Sandestin (Fla.) Golf and Beach Resort. With three of five players carding scored of 80 and higher, Illinois Wesleyan shot a final day 313 and finished at 1206, tied with St. John Fisher. The team champion was Texas-Tyler at 1167. Titan sophomore Kenny Wienckowski shot a 1-over par 72 on the final day and finished tied for 16th with a total of 294 (77-75-70-72). He had a hole-in-one on the 130-yard 12th hole. Senior Stefan Johnson tied for 43rd individually as he had a 305 score (71-71-83-80).

2012: Illinois Wesleyan finished ninth in the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament at the Mission Inn Resort & Club at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. After a final day score of 303, IWU ended at 51-over par 1203. The national champion and wire-to-wire leader was Oglethorpe with a total of 1171, 20 strokes better than second place Transyvania at 1191 and third place Methodist at 1192. Illinois Wesleyan senior Dex Reese finished tied for third with a 290 total [72-74-75-69] as he shot a final day 3-under 69, two shots better than any of the other 81 final day players. Freshman Teddy Kon finished with a 305 total, tied for 47th place. The individual national champion was Oglethorpe's Anthony Maccaglio with a score of 6-under par 282.

2011: Illinois Wesleyan finished second with a four day total of 1173, just six shots behind the champion Greensboro (N.C.) at 1167 in the national tourney at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center in Greensboro, N.C. The Titans had two players finish in the top 10 and earn Division III Ping All-American honors. Senior Ryan Dorner finished tied for seventh with 288 (72-71-74-71) and was named to the first team All-American squad and junior Dex Reese was a second team All-American as he shot a 69 on the final day and placed ninth with a 289 score (72-72-76-69). Centre's Chris Morris shot a 14-under 274 to take home the top individual honor.

2010: The Titans finished tied for 15th with a team score of 1217 at the Hershey Links Course and Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pa. Dorner was IWU's low finisher with a score of 302, tied for 42nd place. Methodist University defeated Guilford College by one stroke to claim its tenth national title in school history at the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Golf National Championship. Tain Lee of Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges shot a seven-under 280 to take home the top individual honors.

2009: The Titans placed fifth in the 2009 championships at Port St. Lucie, Fla., finishing with a score of 1187 as Oglethorpe was the team champion (1164) and LaVerne was second (1168). IWU's Bennett Blakeman tied for eighth place with a four-day total of 5-over 293. Dorner ended up in a 41st place tie with his 303 score.

2008: IWU finished 12th in the four-day event in 2008 in Braselton, Ga. Junior Chris Green finished second in the national NCAA Division III men's golf championships, carding a final day 73 to finish at 290, five shots behind medalist Scott Harris Jr. of St. John Fisher College (285). As a result of his second place finish, Green was one of 11 named to the first team of the PING All-American team chosen by members of the Golf Coaches Association of America.

2007: IWU finished 27th after the second day of the 2007 championships but only the low 23 teams made the cut to participate in the final two days.

As a team, Illinois Wesleyan competed frequently in the NAIA District 20 tournament and was in the NAIA national meet in 1967 but missed the 36-hole cut.

IWU's Dan Stoerzbach played as an individual in the 1978, 1979 and 1980 NCAA Division III championships. He earned All-America honors for his 11th place finish in 1979 and placed 33rd in 1978 and 36th in 1980.