STOCKTON, Calif. – Western Washington University senior golfer Chris Hatch fired a 5-under-par 67 to lead the Vikings into a tie for 5th place after the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division II West/South Central Super Regional played Monday at Brookside Country Club.

The Vikings, seeded No. 6 in the West Regional and making their 19th consecutive NCAA championship appearance, teed off in the afternoon round and turned in a team score of 6-under-par 282. WWU is in a three-way tie for 5th place with Dixie State and Cal State Monterey Bay in the 20-team super regional featuring the top 10 teams from the West and South Central Region in NCAA Division II. Sonoma State and California Baptist lead the team competition at 14-under-par 274 through the first 18 of the 54-hole competition.

The top five teams and the top two individuals not on advancing teams advance to the NCAA II Championships that will be held May 22-26 at Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, Florida.

I am pleased with the team’s overall performance today,” said GNAC Coach of the Year Luke Bennett. “The wind picked up a bit this afternoon and it was great to see the guys play solid despite the conditions.”

Hatch (Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak) was in complete control of his round carding a bogey-free round while recording three birdies and one eagle. Starting on the 10th hole, Hatch birdied holes #12 (Par 3 – 131 yards), #16 (Par 5 – 559 yards) and #17 (Par 3 – 181 yards). He made the turn at 3-under-par, and tallied 8 birdies and an eagle on his final 9 holes. Hatch is 5 strokes back of tournament leader Trevor Lampson (Cal Baptist), who shot a scorching 10-under-par 62 to miss the course record by one stroke.

“Chris was very solid…he looked in complete control from start to finish today and is playing really solid golf right now,” added Bennett.

The back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions also received solid performance from seniors Brett Johnson (Ridgefield, WA/Oregon State) and Jeffrey Marcum (Richland, WA/South Mountain CC). Johnson is tied for 27th at 2-under-par (70) and Marcum is at even par to tie for 54th place in the 108-player field. Sophomore Michael Butler (Sammamish, WA/Skyline) had a pair of triple bogeys in an otherwise solid round, carding six birdies to finish at 1-over-par 73 to tie for 64th place.

The super regional continues Tuesday with the Vikings scheduled to start teeing off at 8:20 am.

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

www.wwuvikings.com