COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – The Western Washington University men’s golf team is in 2nd place after the first two rounds of the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships played Monday at Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.

Looking to repeat as GNAC champions, the Vikings trail first-place Concordia by 6 strokes heading into Tuesday’s final round. Western turned in rounds of 292 (+8) and 289 (+5) for a 36-hole total of 581 on the par 71, 6,803-yard course that sits on the edge of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

While within striking distance of Concordia (+7, 575), the Vikings hold a narrow one-stroke lead over 3rd-place Simon Fraser (+14, 582) and are 5 strokes better than 4th-place Saint Martin’s (+18, 586).

Senior Chris Hatch (Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak) is in 2nd place in the 30-player field with a 36-hole score of 4-under-par 138. Hatch recorded 3 birdies in an even-par round of 71 in the morning, and then came home with a 4-under-par 67 in the afternoon fueled by 5 birdies and one bogey. The three-time GNAC All-Star finished tied for 3rd at last year’s GNAC Championships and was tied for 4th as a freshman.

“Chris played solid all spring and today was no different,” added Bennett. “It was fun to watch him out there. He seemed very in control of his game from the start of his day.”

Senior Jeffrey Marcum (Richland, WA) is tied for 9th at 4-over-par 146, firing rounds of 74 (+3) and 72 (+1) on the day.

Senior Brett Johnson (Ridgefield, WA) and sophomore Cody Roth (Bellingham, WA) are tied for 16th at 8-over-par (150). Sophomore Michael Butler (Sammamish, WA/Skyline) bounced back from a morning round of 8-over-par 79 to shoot a 3-over 74 and is tied for 24th place heading into Tuesday’s final round.

The Vikings finished the first round in 3rd place with a team score of 8-over-par 292. Hatch led the WWU contingent finishing the first 18 holes at even par, closing out the final 7 holes of the round at 2-under-par. Roth shot a 2-over-par 73 to sit in a four-way tie for 9th place, while Johnson and Marcum closed out the four counting scores for the Vikings with matching scores of 3-over-par 74 (T13th).

WWU improved three strokes in the afternoon round with a 5-over-par 289. Hatch led the way with his 4-under-par 67, tying tournament leader Chris Crisologo (Simon Fraser) for the lowest round of the day.

Crisologo, the GNAC’s leader in scoring average (71.5) holds a one stroke lead over Hatch completing the first two rounds at 5-under-par (137). Concordia’s Nick Huff (-2, 140), Saint Martin’s Austin Spicer (-1, 141) and Concordia’s Dylan Cramer (E, 142) round out the top 5.

The tournament concludes Tuesday with the final 18 holes beginning at 7:30 am. WWU is scheduled to tee off from 8:25 to 9:09 am.

Fans and media can follow the final round leaderboard and team standings via Golfstat.

Vikings in 2nd Place after First Day of GNAC Championships

COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – The Western Washington University women’s golf team is in 2nd place after the first round of the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships played Monday at Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.

WWU finished the first 18 holes of the 36-hole tournament with a team score of 29-over-par 313, 8 strokes back of tournament leader Simon Fraser University (+21, 305). The Vikings have won five of the GNAC Championships, but had their five-year string of tournament titles snapped last season by SFU. Tomorrow’s final round is scheduled to begin at 8 am.

“This is a course where a bit move can be made and that’s the mindset that we need to bring to the course tomorrow,” said head coach Bo Stephan. “We were close today, but tomorrow everyone needs to be just a little sharper. I think there are some spots where we can be a little more aggressive and make something happen, but also some holes where playing safer is better. We just need to recognize those different areas.”

Junior Jenn Paul (Bellingham, WA) led the Vikings contingent with a 4-over-par 75 on the 5,914-yard par 71 layout. Paul sits in 2nd place heading into tomorrow’s final round, 5 strokes back of Simon Fraser’s Emily Leung. Paul, the two-time GNAC co-Player of the Year, is looking for her highest finish in the GNAC Championships, tying for 3rd place in each of her first two seasons.

Sophomore Hannah Drake (Pocatello, ID/Century) is in 4th place in the 30-player field after turning in a 6-over-par 77 on Monday.

Senior Audrey Orem (Bellingham, WA) is tied for 7th (+9, 80) and sophomore Stephanie Sewell (+10, 81) is tied for 9th to round out WWU’s counting scores in the first round. Senior Brooke Branigan (Bellingham, WA) stands in a tie for 21st place at 15-over-par (86).

The defending champion Clan had each of their four scoring players finish inside the top 10 of the first round to take an 8-stroke lead over the Vikings. Paul (77.6) and Leung (77.7) were the top two leaders in the GNAC in scoring average entering the tournament.

The Vikings are ranked No. 13 in the latest NCAA Division II West Region rankings, needing to move up at least one spot to make a return trip to the NCAA II Championships. The NCAA Field of 48 will be announced on Monday, May 1 at 1 pm PT on NCAA.com.

Tomorrow’s final round is scheduled to begin at 8 am with WWU players starting to tee off between 8:55 and 9:39 am.

Fans and media can follow the final round leaderboard and team standings via Golfstat.

— @WWUAthletics —