BROKEN ARROW, Okla. - The TCU Horned Frogs captured the team title at the 2001 Western Athletic Conference Championships at the par-72 Forest Ridge Golf Club on Wednesday. TCU narrowly defeated second-round leader Tulsa, winning by one stroke, 896 to 897.
The nine WAC teams battled high winds, steady at 25 miles per hour with winds gusting to over 30 MPH, on a mostly sunny day at the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma course.
It was TCU's third WAC title in the last five years. The Horned Frogs won the league crown in back-to-back years, 1997 and 1998.
Tulsa freshman David Inglis grabbed individual medalist honors after shooting a 1-over-par 73 today for an even-par 216. He scored a 1-over-par 37 on the front side and a 36 on the back nine. Inglis' individual title marked the second straight year that the medalist has been from Tulsa. Last year, Martin Maritz, a senior, grabbed that honor.
The victory for Inglis was his second of the season, and his 12th top-20 finish in all 12 tournaments. "It means a lot to come out in my first year to win two tournaments with one being the WAC Championship," said Inglis. "But, we're disappointed we didn't win as a team. It was our fourth second-place finish this year. We do good and get into position, but we can't seem to finish it out."
TCU carded a third round 305, while Tulsa scored a 310 today. SMU placed third with a 905 total after turning in today's best round with a 304. Nevada's 919 was good for fifth-place, followed by Fresno State and Hawaii tying for sixth-place with 924, San Jose State's 925 for eighth place and Rice's 936 for ninth place.
"This victory is huge. Obviously, it is one of our goals to win the WAC Championship. We were very fortunate, and when you get four birdies on the last hole you're lucky," said TCU Head Coach Bill Montigel. "It was a total team effort. Our guys came out and played extremely well under adverse conditions."
TCU's Scott Volpitto, tied for the individual lead heading into today's action, finished in second-place with a 2-over-par 218 total after carding a 75 today. Fellow TCU teammate Aaron Hickman scored a 222 for third-place. Rounding out the top-five individuals were Rice's Ryan Morgan with a 223 total, while SMU's Franklin Hatchett and Fresno State's Jonathon Echols tied
for fifth-place with eight-over par 224s.
TCU, trailing four strokes at the start of the day, took a one-stroke lead on the Hurricane after the first nine holes and managed to keep that lead through the final nine holes. All five Horned Frog golfers birdied the final hole, while Tulsa scored four birdies on the 18th hole.
The Mustangs made a push for the title with a final round 304, after scoring a five-over par 149 on the front nine. SMU's Stephen Sparolini scored the day's best round with an even-par 72.
"It was a very tough day. You have to control your emotions, and we didn't handle that as well today," said Tulsa Head Coach Bill Brogden. "But this is a special team, the best we've had since 1995. I'm very pleased with the guys. I thought this would have been a chance to get over the hump."
Western Athletic Conf. Champ
Forest Ridge G.C. Broken Arrow OK
FINAL RESULTS
Tournament Dates: 04/30 - 05/02
Par: 72
Yardage: 6834
Fin Team Scores
1 TCU 291 300 305 896 +32
2 Tulsa, U. of 293 294 310 897 +33
3 Southern Methodist 301 300 304 905 +41
4 Texas El Paso, U. of 296 302 315 913 +49
5 Nevada, Univ. of 305 306 308 919 +55
6 Hawaii, Univ. of 307 301 316 924 +60
Fresno State Univ. 299 308 317 924 +60
8 San Jose State Univ. 304 313 308 925 +61
9 Rice University 311 301 324 936 +72
Western Athletic Conf. Champ
Forest Ridge G.C. Broken Arrow OK
Tournament Dates: 04/30 - 05/02
FINAL RESULTS
Par: 72
Yardage: 6834
Fin Name School Scores
1 David Inglis Tulsa 75 68 73 216 E
2 Scott Volpitto TCU 69 74 75 218 +2
3 Aaron Hickman TCU 75 74 73 222 +6
4 Ryan Morgan Rice 76 72 75 223 +7
5 Franklin Hatchett SMU 75 72 77 224 +8
Jonathon Echols Fresno St. 72 76 76 224 +8
7 Nick Watney Fresno St. 70 77 78 225 +9
Nathan Fritz UTEP 73 74 78 225 +9
9 Jerome Theunis SMU 76 77 74 227 +11
Chris Noel Tulsa 76 76 75 227 +11
Chris Baryla UTEP 75 76 76 227 +11
Bryant Reyes San Jose S 73 78 76 227 +11
Ian Hagen Nevada 77 75 75 227 +11
14 Dan Swanson UTEP 73 75 80 228 +12
Stephen Sparolini SMU 76 80 72 228 +12
16 Sprague Kolp Nevada 77 76 76 229 +13
Adam Rubinson TCU 73 78 78 229 +13
Kevin Henry Tulsa 73 74 82 229 +13
19 Scott Carlyle Hawaii 79 74 77 230 +14
Andy Doeden TCU 74 77 79 230 +14
21 Russ Nygard Hawaii 73 81 78 232 +16
Carlos Concha Nevada 73 80 79 232 +16
Ryan Abbate SMU 74 75 83 232 +16
24 John Witherall San Jose S 76 80 77 233 +17
Stephen Polanski TCU 77 75 81 233 +17
Bob Sauer San Jose S 79 77 77 233 +17
Billy Lowry Tulsa 72 81 80 233 +17
28 Isaac Weintraub San Jose S 78 78 78 234 +18
Matthew Kodama Hawaii 75 76 83 234 +18
30 Brock Mulder SMU 78 76 81 235 +19
31 Nate Whitson San Jose S 77 81 78 236 +20
Mike Haack Nevada 78 80 78 236 +20
Justin Kim Hawaii 80 75 81 236 +20
Norman-Ganin Asao Hawaii 80 76 80 236 +20
31 Adrian Quintela UTEP 78 77 81 236 +20
Shawn Matthews Tulsa 73 76 87 236 +20
37 Scott Phillips Rice 80 75 82 237 +21
38 Winn Smith Rice 76 77 85 238 +22
39 Chris Connolly Rice 79 77 83 239 +23
40 Mark Gonzalez UTEP 75 82 83 240 +24
41 Dustin Smith Fresno St. 76 77 89 242 +26
Cullen Brasfield Nevada 84 75 83 242 +26
43 Wes Lovell Fresno St. 83 78 82 243 +27
44 Daniel Timmons Fresno St. 81 82 81 244 +28
45 Brandon Jung Rice 85 81 84 250 +34
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