Men's Golf | 5/4/2016 10:07:00 PM

Final Results

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The St. Edward's Men's Golf team finished in a three-way tied for 14^th place as its season came to a close on the final day of the NCAA DII South Central/West Regional, Wednesday afternoon. This year's regional was held at the Par 71, 7,242-yard University Golf Course.
 
St. Edward's (291-299-301=891) came into the final round just six shots out of the five coveted spots, which qualified for the National Tournament. Starting on the back nine once again, the Hilltoppers struggled to find their rhythm making the turn at 11-over par. In its last nine holes, St. Edward's settled down and finished five-over par during the final half. The Hilltoppers finished tied with Cameron (297-295-299=891) and Cal. St.-East Bay (294-291-306=891) for 14^th place.
 
"We needed a hot start and didn't get one. Three of the first four holes were the toughest holes on the course today and it was hard to rebound from it," head coach Todd Ohlmeyer said. "The guys put forth tremendous effort and never gave up, but we struggled again this week."
 
JOEY HEARN (77-75-72=224) led the Hilltoppers on the final day as he continued his upward trend. The junior limited his mistakes to just three bogeys on the round to go along with two birdies. He would finish tied for 55^th place in the tourney.
 
DILLON VAN ESSEN (73-71-75=219) was the top finisher for St. Edward's. He had to do it the hard way in Wednesday's round. The junior made a quadruple bogey on his opening hole and two more bogeys in his first nine to sit at six-over par at the turn. Van Essen rallied in his last nine holes with three birdies, compared to just one slip up, to shoot two-under in his last nine holes. He would finish tied for 29^th place.
 
Chico State (292-281-279=852), Oklahoma Christian (286-286-286=858), Dallas Baptist (292-294-281=867), California Baptist (297-290-282=869) and BYU-Hawaii (287-294-291=872) all qualified as teams for the National Tournament.
 
Sonoma State's Brandon Lee (71-70-68=209) and Western New Mexico's Calum Hill (73-70-68=211) both qualified for Nationals as individuals.
 
Also competing for St. Edward's were ANDREW SPEAR (73-76-76=225) who finished tied for 63^rd place. THOMAS HOLTZMAN (71-77-78=226) finished one shot back of Spear in a tie for 70^th place. JAY HOGAN (74-77-79=230) rounded out the scoring for the Hilltoppers as he tied for 88^th place.
 
"We are pretty disappointed in the year. We had some high hopes and expectations," Ohlmeyer said. "We have a very strong core but just couldn't get everyone clicking at the same time this year. I have a very good feeling about this group and look forward to the fall."
 
The Hilltoppers end their season after advancing to the NCAA Regional Tournament for the 13^th-straight year. Every Hilltopper will return next year as the squad played with no seniors on the roster.