DUPONT, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's golf team staged a ferocious comeback in the final round of the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, but fell just short of recording its 10^th conference tournament title.
 
The Vikings opened the final round 13 strokes behind leader Saint Martin's, and made up 11 strokes on the Saints, but earned team runner-up honors in the two-day, 54-hole tournament held at The Home Course.
 
WWU shot the lowest team round of the tournament with a final-round score of 6-under-par 282, finishing the championship at 13-over-par 877. Playing on its home course, Saint Martin's won its first GNAC title with a two-day team total of 11-over-par 875.
 
"The guys played inspiring golf today and really focused on their game and stayed patient all round," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "It was a total team effort to get in the mix for the championship, we just fell a few birdies short of completing the comeback. To have all four counting scores at even par or better is outstanding. I am really proud of how they battled back from yesterday."
 
Second-year freshman Drew Halili led the Vikings with individual runner-up honors, finishing the tournament at 1-over-par 217 with rounds of 74 (+2), 72 (E) and 71 (-1). The Port Orchard native played his final 12 holes 1-under-par, ending his round with 11 consecutive birdies. He was three strokes back of tournament winner Tyler Fitchett of Saint Martin's (-2, 214).
 
All four of Western's scoring players on Tuesday finished under par, with junior Devin Andrews carding a 2-under-par 70 and junior Brody Bonfilio recording a bogey-free 2-under-par 70. Andrews played his final 17 holes in 3-under-par after a bogey on the first hole to finish tied for 8^th in the 20-player field. Bonfilio finished his round with 13 consecutive pars to earn a tie for 6^th place.
 
Sophomore Jordan Lee had a strong finish with birdies on two of his last three holes to card a 1-under-par 71 and finished in a tie for 4^th place. Lee tied for 2^nd in the tournament with 11 birdies.
 
Freshman Cody Oakes tallied five birdies in his 2-over-par round of 74 to finish in a tie for 8^th place in the tournament and finished the championship with 10 birdies, 4^th-most in the 20-player field.
 
The Vikings were playing without three-time GNAC Golfer of the Week and team scoring average leader Aiden Thain, who is out with a minor injury. Thain is expected back on the course should the Vikings advance to the NCAA postseason.
  The Vikings entered the postseason as the No. 2 ranked team in the NCAA Division II West Region and are in good position to make a 22^nd consecutive appearance in the NCAA II Golf Championships. The selection for the NCAA II Men's Golf Championships is this Friday, with the West/South Central Regional scheduled for May 6-8 at The Home Course in DuPont.
  Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from the 2021 GNAC Men's Golf Championships at The Home Course:
 

2021 GNAC MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS The Home Course  »  DuPont, WA Par 72  »  6,910 Yards
Pos.	Team/Player	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Total
2nd	Western Washington	+13	298	297	282	877
2nd	Drew Halili	+1	74	72	71	217
T-4th	Jordan Lee	+4	75	74	71	220
T-6th	Brody Bonfilio	+5	76	75	70	221
T-8th	Devin Andrews	+7	77	76	70	223
T-8th	Cody Oakes	+7	73	76	74	223
Pos.	Team	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Total
1.	Saint Martin's	+11	294	288	293	875
2.	Western Washington	+13	298	297	282	877
3.	Montana State Billings	+23	298	296	293	887
4.	Northwest Nazarene	+38	306	308	288	902

  The Vikings have won nine of the 13 GNAC Men's Golf Championships since the event debuted in 2008. WWU won six consecutive titles from 2008-13, were back-to-back team champions in 2016-17 and won the 2019 team title. A Viking has also won eight of 13 individual medalist honors, including 2019 champion Brody Bonfilio.
 
GNAC Tournament History:
54-Hole Total - 203, Brett Johnson, WWU, 64-73-66 (GNAC, April 18-19, 2016)
Single Round - 64, Brett Johnson, WWU (April 18, 2016)
54-Hole Total, Team - 837, Simon Fraser, 277-281-279 (April 20-21, 2015); 837, WWU, 276-279-282 (April 18-19, 2016)
Single Round, Team - 274, Western Washington (April 20, 2010)
 
GNAC Team Champions:
2008 - Western Washington (578*)
2009 - Western Washington (872)
2010 - Western Washington (850)
2011 - Western Washington (884)
2012 - Western Washington (856)
2013 - Western Washington (867)
2014 - Northwest Nazarene (892)
2015 - Simon Fraser (837)
2016 - Western Washington (837)
2017 - Western Washington (871)
2018 - Simon Fraser (852)
2019 - Western Washington (851)
2020 - No Tournament (COVID-19)
2021 - Saint Martin's (875)
 
Courses: 2008: Indian Canyon; 2009-2019: Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course; 2021: The Home Course
*36-hole tournament
 
GNAC Individual Champions:
2008 - Hiro Nezu, Saint Martin's - 138 (65-73)
2009 - Jake Koppenberg, WWU - 213 (69-70-74) – won in playoff
2010 - Xavier Dailly, WWU - 219 (70-72-67)
2011 - Nick Valeria, WWU - 215 (74-70-71)
2012 - Craig Crawford, WWU - 212 (65-76-71)
2013 - Jake Webb, WWU - 213 (70-68-75)
2014 - Kevin Vigna, Simon Fraser - 213 (75-67-71)
2015 - Bret Thompson, Simon Fraser - 205 (68-67-70)
2016 - Brett Johnson, WWU - 203 (64-73-66)
2017 - Chris Crisologo, Simon Fraser - 208 (70-67-71)
2018 - Ethan Casto, WWU - 209 (67-75-67) – won in playoff
2019 - Brody Bonfilio, WWU - 210 (67-71-72)
2020 - No Tournament (COVID-19)
2021 - Tyler Fitchett, Saint Martin's - 214 (69-72-73)
  Here is a complete look at the 2020-21 WWU Men's Golf schedule, which is subject to change at any time. Results following each round and any Live Leaderboard links will be posted on the homepage of WWU Golf at WWUVikings.com/MGolf.
 

Dates	Tournament	Location / Course	Result
March 8-9	Nighthawks Invitational	Livermore, CA (Poppy Ridge Golf Course)	1st of 14 teams
March 22	West Regional Preview	DuPont, WA (The Home Course)	T-3rd of 11 teams
March 29-30	Redhawk Invitational	University Place, WA (Chambers Bay)	14th of 15 (top DII)
April 5-6	Mustang Intercollegiate	Goodyear, AZ (Palm Valley Golf Club)	T-6th of 13 teams
April 19-20	GNAC Championships	DuPont, WA (The Home Course)	2nd of 4 teams
May 6-8	NCAA II West/South Central Regional	DuPont, WA (The Home Course)
May 17-21	NCAA National Championships	Palm Beach Gardens, FL (PGA National Resort)

  Fans can follow the WWU Men's Golf program online at WWUVikings.com/MGolf, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUGolf), Instagram (@wwugolf) and Facebook (@WWUMGolf).
  The WWU men's golf team has an incredible streak of advancing to the NCAA Championships in each of the 21 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 16 NCAA All-Americans and has won 9 of 12 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008, including the 2019 title. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 8 of 12 tournaments, including 2018 champion Ethan Casto and 2019 champion Brody Bonfilio.