PENFIELD, N.Y. - Illinois Wesleyan University's men's golf team tied for the most selections nationally as the Golf Coaches Association of America unveiled its NCAA Division III PING All-Region teams at the national championship banquet Sunday night, May 18. The fifth-ranked Titans put five on the GCAA PING All-Region V squad, tying Methodist and Rochester for the most nationally.
Seniors Quinn Clifford (Chicago, Ill.-Brother Rice) and Griffin Pohl (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) along with juniors Michael Spitzer (Hinsdale, Ill.-Hinsdale Central) and Juney Bai (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) were repeat recipients, while junior Aidan Healy (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln-Way West) hauled in the honor for the first time in his career. Clifford, Pohl, and Bai are now three-time all-region picks, while Spitzer snagged the accolade for the second straight season.
Clifford, the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Co-Elite 26 Award winner, has placed in the top-20 in all but one tournament he has competed in this season. He was tabbed the league's golfer of the week, April 29, and later took fifth-place at the conference tournament. Over 10 tournaments, Clifford has averaged 71.5 strokes per round over 27 rounds this season. The Chicago product's best round of the year came in the opening 18 holes of play at the NCAA Division III Preview, Sept. 22, where he posted a seven-under 65 to kickoff the event. He currently ranks 35th across Division III individual player rankings and secured a win at the Take Back the Night Challenge, April 26.
Pohl is amid a tremendous senior season in which the Western Springs, Ill. native has been voted the CCIW Men's Golfer of the Year and was named the CCIW Golfer of the Week three times this season. He carries a 71.2 stroke average per round over 27 rounds, while competing in 10 events. The senior has five top-10 finishes on the year, including a first-place finish at the Wabash Invitational, Oct. 7-8, where he fired a 36-hole total of seven-under to top the 84-player field. Pohl snagged All-CCIW honors with a second-place performance at the conference championship, behind rounds of 67, 70, and 72 to post a 209. He currently ranks 15th nationally according to the latest Clippd rankings.
Spitzer, the individual CCIW Champion this spring, competed in 10 tournaments posting a scoring average of 70.9 strokes per round through 27 rounds. The junior has notched five top-10 finishes this season, with wins at the league championship along with the Hawk 36. Spitzer fired a seven-under 65 on day two of the CCIW Championship, finishing one off the school single round record with his career-low score. Nationally, Spitzer is slotted 21st.
Also earning the CCIW Elite 26 Award alongside Clifford, was Bai who holds a 72.3 stroke average of 27 rounds. He has posted four top-10 placements, including winning the Jekyll Island Collegiate Individual Tournament, March 21-23. He finished the three-day event three-under par to claim medalist honors.
Earning his spot in the lineup this season, Healy has put together a strong junior season for the Green and White. He holds a scoring average of 72.5 strokes per round over 26 rounds and 10 tournaments. An All-CCIW performer, Healy has four top-10 finishes this season. He took runner-up at the Wabash College Fall Invitational and 12th at the NCAA Division III Preview behind a pair of four-under par showings.
Illinois Wesleyan tees off at the NCAA Division III Men's Golf National Championship Tuesday, May 20 in Penfield, N.Y. The four-day championship is slated to be played at Midvale Country Club Tuesday-Friday, May 20-23.
Division III PING All-Region Teams
Region I
Ramon Aroca Gonzalez, Hamilton
Tyler Baker, Endicott
Jack Berry, Babson
Benjamin Boyd, Trinity (CT)
Brady Burke, Endicott
Thomas Chalfant, Trinity (CT)
Ryan Dacey, Roger Williams
Jan Ebbinge, Amherst
Evan Eichenlaub, Babson
Paari Kaviyarasu, Amherst
Charlie Mullin, Trinity (CT)
JP Noone, Tufts
Will Pierce, Endicott
Nathan Tallinder, Hartford
Aman Vantipalli, Babson
Region II
Arjun Aujla, Rochester
Matt Buckley, RPI
Brad Castaldy, Farmingdale State
Padruig Douglas, Farmingdale State
Luke Evans, Rochester
Owen Himmer, RPI
Ryan Komp, RPI
Jacob Lindsay, RPI
Jomyuth Luangtana-anan, NYU
CJ Merritt, Farmingdale State
Eddie Ren, Rochester
Alvin Su, Rochester
Nick Tellone, St. John Fisher
Oscar Uribe, NYU
Shibo Wang, Rochester
Region III
Roy Anderson, Franklin & Marshall
Daniel Casanta, Gettysburg
Avery Cohen, Drew
Myles Cunningham, Gettysburg
Charlie Dolan, McDaniel
Jacob Fripp, York (PA)
Gavin Ganter, York (PA)
Carter Hassenplug, Allegheny
Quishi He, Franklin & Marshall
Jackson Hoovler, Alvernia
Patrick Kilcoyne, Gettysburg
Collin McMahon-Shea, Dickinson
Peyton Mussina, Penn College
Elliot Parker, Drew
Daniel Suter, Gettysburg
Region IV
Stephen Baker, Huntingdon
Elias Becker, Sewanee
Beau Brewer, Methodist
Jack Burr, Huntingdon
Michael Burry, Emory
Watcharakan Chankarn, Greensboro
Turner Chiles, Sewanee
Eddie Coffren V, Lynchburg
Colin Edwards, Sewanee
Brian Hanson, Emory
Jackson Hiller, Oglethorpe
Timothy Kaufman, Washington & Lee
Charlie Krasnewich, Washington & Lee
Tony Li, Emory
Pearse Lucas, Sewanee
Elias Malakoff, Washington & Lee
Jonathan McEwen, Washington & Lee
Evan Mendyk, Guilford
Kevin Mu, Emory
Killian O'Reilly, Averett
Haden Ruby, Methodist
Caleb Ryan, Methodist
Aiden Spampinato, Methodist
Chase Walts, Methodist
Region V
Juney Bai, Illinois Wesleyan
Mitch Bolte, Wittenberg
Tom Buchert, Transylvania
Justin Chan, Carnegie Mellon
Quinn Clifford, Illinois Wesleyan
Aidan Healy, Illinois Wesleyan
Will Hulsey, Kenyon
Manuel Loring, DePauw
Mitchell Mazzei, North Central
Peter Nusbaum, Penn State Altoona
Jonathan Oakes, Kenyon
Griffin Pohl, Illinois Wesleyan
Michael Spitzer, Illinois Wesleyan
Jonah Swartz, Wheaton
David Zhang, Carnegie Mellon
Region VI
Nick Amtmann, UW-Eau Claire
Andrew Boemer, Saint John's (MN)
Corey Boerner, UW-Eau Claire
Braeden Duncan, Aurora
Chris Gutuza, Gustavus Adolphus
Luke Harwick, Dubuque
Sam Higaki, Carleton
Jackson Hulsey, Aurora
Will Karkoc, Bethel (MN)
Mattias Morris, Aurora
Caleb Negley, Aurora
Ben Pausha, UW-Eau Claire
Carter Ruegsegger, Dubuque
Nathan Thomson, St. Norbert
Tyler Wengronowitz, Lake Forest
Region VII
Corbin Barton, LeTourneau
Andrew Bennett, Centenary
Aaron Buck, Redlands
Jason Bustos, La Verne
Carter Code, Trinity (TX)
Jonas DeLeon, Redlands
John Kim, Pomona-Pitzer
Yuefeng (Michael) Ma, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Jacob Mason, Trinity (TX)
Nilay Naik, Pomona-Pitzer
Antonio Ramirez, St. Thomas (TX)
Sam Rossi, Trinity (TX)
Ben Soicher, Chapman
Bryce Stiemert, Southwestern (TX)
Jamison Tan, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
About PING
PING designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of golf equipment including metal woods, irons, wedges, putters and golf bags. The family-owned company was founded in 1959 in the garage of the late Karsten Solheim, a mechanical engineer with an extensive background in the aerospace and computer industries. His frustration with his putting inspired him to design his own putter, which created a "pinging" sound when striking a golf ball. This sound was the source of the name now synonymous with innovation, quality and service throughout the world of golf. Solheim and his company are credited with numerous innovations that became industry standards, including perimeter weighting, custom fitting and the use of investment casting in the manufacturing of golf clubs. His insistence on adhering to strict engineering principles and tight manufacturing tolerances raised the level of product performance and quality throughout the golf industry. Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Today, the Phoenix-based company is under the direction of Solheim's grandson, John K. Solheim, who leads a team of more than 800 dedicated employees committed to helping improve the games of golfers around the world.
