Both Saint Xavier golf teams had eventful CCAC championship events last week. The men took a team victory and a women’s team member earned the individual title.
Men’s Team Victory
The Saint Xavier University men’s golf team earned their third team victory of the season following the April 21 and 22 tournament.
But this was by far the crowning achievement of the season. After all, it was the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) championship.
It was their second-straight win after having captured the Bethel Pilot Invitational in South Bend, Ind., on April 11 and 12.
The Cougars, in just their second year as a team, beat out the other 11 teams in the field at George W. Dunne National in Oak Forest. Dunne is probably the toughest course they played all year: a par-72 track with water on 11 holes that played to 7,262 yards.
Saint Xavier took the CCAC crown by seven strokes and had all four golfers in the top 10.
Junior Kyle Bahnick almost came away with the individual title in addition to the team victory. His first-round 76 and second-round 75 (+7 for the tournament) had him tied for the lead after regulation.
Bahnick met Holy Cross College’s Matthew Code for a playoff hole, which Code won to take the individual title.
More important, however, was the team win, which the Cougars earned with consistency and depth on the roster.
Senior James Kerr finished in a tie for third place after improving on his first day score of 79 with a second-round 74 (+9).
Seniors Kirby Brown and Brendan Ryan rounded out the team score in a tie for seventh and ninth place, respectively. Brown shot 78-79 (+13) and Ryan finished in 78-80 (+14) to demonstrate the men’s golf team’s prowess from top to bottom.
Thompson Takes Individual Title
First-year golfer Taylor Thompson shot an 81 on the first day of the CCAC championship and followed it up with a 79 to win the individual title by two strokes over Olivet Nazarene University’s Ashley Miller.
It was Thompson’s second first-place finish this season. The first came in the Saint Francis University (Ill.) Fall Invite on Oct. 4 and 5. It was also her fifth-straight top-10 finish of the season.
Gleneagles Country Club in Lemont held the championship event. The course measured 6,045 yards and played to a par of 72.
The women’s team as a whole struggled. They finished in fifth place out of the five teams in the field.
First-year Courtney Dudgeon finished tied for 14th place with consecutive 91s. Fellow first-year Katie Reno found success in the first round with an 89 but could not keep it going in the second round, shooting a 102.
Ashley Anderson, another first year, improved between the first and second days. She shot a 130 before her second-round 122.
The golfing future for Saint Xavier looks bright, with the second-year men’s team picking up three team victories in 2013-2014 and the first-year women’s team earning two individual titles during the season.
The men’s team’s season continues with their bid for an NAIA national championship in Daytona Beach, Fla., on May 13.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor