LIVERMORE, Calif. – For the fifth time in seven tournaments in 2018-19, the No. 6 nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's golf team were crowned tournament team champions.

 

This time the Vikings recorded a 14-stroke victory over the 15-team field at the NDNU Argonaut Invitational played Monday and Tuesday at Poppy Ridge Golf Course.

 

Western led wire-to-wire for its fifth win of the season, including second consecutive spring tournament, to tie for the national NCAA Division II lead for tournament wins with No. 1 ranked Barry and No. 20 Grand Valley State.

 

The Vikings finished the two-day, 54-hole tournament with a team score of 21-over-par 885 on the par-72 layout, completing the event in tough conditions with a 14-over-par 302 on Tuesday.

 

WWU's five-golfer contingent all finished in the top 20 of the 85-player field, with four top-10 finishes, and the Vikings dominated the field with 47 birdies (second-most was 34 by Simon Fraser).

 

"It's fantastic to get a win in tough conditions. The entire field had to deal with strong winds and  fast and bumpy greens," said WWU head coach Luke Bennett. "This event definitely tested us mentally. I'm a very proud of how the guys stayed positive and never gave up."

 

Senior Nick Sparling led the Vikings tying for 2^nd place at 3-over-par 219, followed closely by senior Michael Butler in 4^th place at 5-over-par 221. Sparling led the field with 13 birdies over the three rounds and played Poppy Ridge's 10 par 4 holes at 2-over-par to lead the tournament.

 

Senior Cody Roth (9^th, +8/224) and freshman Jordan Lee (T-10^th, +9/225) were also in the top 10 in the tournament. Junior Ethan Casto finished at 11-over-par 227 to tie for 17^th place. 

 

The Vikings finished 14 strokes ahead of 2^nd-place Cal State East Bay (+35/899) and 21 strokes better than 3^rd-place finishers Dominican and Cal State San Bernardino (+42/906).

 

Saint Martin's sophomore Tyler Fitchett won individual medalist honors with a 2-over-par 218, edging Sparling  and Cal State East Bay junior Joey Herrera by one stroke. 

 

"This event showed us where we need to get better," added Bennett. "The guys are excited to get through finals next week and then put in some good work before our next tournament at Stanislaus State."

 

WWU's individual scores and the complete team leaderboard from the NDNU Argonaut Invitational are as follows:

The Vikings have recorded five tournament wins (in seven starts) so far in 2018-19, already tied for second-most in a season in program history, trailing the seven wins by the 1999-2000 team that tied for 6^th place at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

WWU has won five of seven tournament so far in 2018-19, and have two regular-season tournaments remaining before the GNAC Championships that will be held April 22-23 at Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho:

                                                                       

The WWU men's golf team has an incredible streak of advancing to the NCAA Championships in each of the 20 seasons the program has competed at the NCAA Division II level dating back to the 1998-99 season, including a 3^rd-place finish at the 2013 national championship. The program has produced 17 All-Americans and has won 8 of 10 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 7 of 11 tournaments, including 2018 champion Ethan Casto.