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Titans Off to Strong Start at NCAA Championship

Titans lead after 18 holes

5/20/2025 6:49:00 PM

PENFIELD, N.Y. - The fifth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's golf team kicked off play at the NCAA Division III Men's Golf National Championship with an opening round 290 on the par-72, 6558-yard Midvale Golf Course. IWU leads the 43-team field by a four-stroke cushion after 18 holes.

Junior Juney Bai (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) and senior Griffin Pohl (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) paced the Titans on the opening day of competition and are inside the top-10 individually. Bai sits tied for fifth after carding a two-under 70, while Pohl fired a 71 and ranks tied for eighth at one-under par.

Junior Michael Spitzer (Hindsale, Ill.-Hinsdale Central) and senior Quinn Clifford (Chicago, Ill.-Brother Rice) hold shares of 31st and 53rd, respectively. Spitzer went two-over on the day, including two-under on the back nine, to turn in a 74. Clifford posted a first round score of 75.

Illinois Wesleyan tops the team standings at 290, with John Carroll (294), Carleton (294), and Aurora (295) behind the Titans after playing on the Cobblestone Creek course. Trinity (Texas), Kenyon, and Huntingdon are tied for fifth at 297. Lynchburg's Edward Coffren and Bethel's Will Karkoc lead the player standings at four-under, both carding their rounds at Cobblestone Creek.

Second round action is on tap for tomorrow, May 21. Illinois Wesleyan will play on Cobblestone for tomorrow's round, with the Titans scheduled to begin teeing off with a shotgun start at 8:05 a.m. ET.

IWU Individual Standings
t5. Juney Bai 70
t8. Griffin Pohl 71
t31. Michael Spitzer 74
t53. Quinn Clifford 75
t100. Aidan Healy 77

Team Standings
1. Illinois Wesleyan 290
t2. John Carroll 294
t2. Carleton 294
4. Aurora 295
t5. Trinity (Texas) 297
t5. Kenyon 297
t5. Huntingdon 297
t8. Washington & Lee 298
t8. Willamette 298
t8. Carnegie Mellon 298
t11. Rochester 299
t11. Sewanee 299
13. Emory 300
t14. Mary Hardin-Baylor 301
t14. Hope 301
t14. Lynchburg 301
t14. LeTournneau 301
18. Oglethorpe 302
19. Methodist 303
t20. Gettysburg 305
t20. Wittenberg 305
22. York 306
t23. Redlands 307
t23. Roger Williams 307
t25. Dubuque 309
t25. St. John Fisher 309
t27. Rose-Hulman 310
t27. Husson 310
30. Stevens 311
t31. Allegheny 313
t31. Farmingdale State 308
t33. New England College 314
t33. St. Thomas (Texas) 314
35. Mississippi College for Women 315
t36. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 316
t36. Penn State Altoon 316
t38. Penn College 317
t38. Drew 317
40. Piedmont 318
41. Salem State 323
42. Southern Maine 328
43. North Central (Minn.) 343

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