COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho – Led by a historic performance by senior Aidan Thain, the Western Washington University men's golf team completed a dominating 22-stroke wire-to-wire victory at the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. 

The Vikings claimed their 10th GNAC team title in the 14-year history of the event and their fourth in the last six tournaments. WWU recorded a 54-hole team score of 2-over-par 854 in the two-day tournament at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course, defeating second-place Simon Fraser University (+24, 876) by a 22-stroke margin. WWU's final-round score of 12-over-par 296 was the best in the field by a three-stroke margin while battling windy conditions.
 

Winning its 10th team title earns Western an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championships in the West/South Central Super Regional that will be held May 5-7 in Pueblo, Colorado. The Vikings have extended an incredible streak with 23 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships, marking every season WWU has competed at the NCAA level.
 

"I'm extremely proud of how the guys performed throughout the tournament," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "We knew the competition and the course were going to be a big challenge, but the team showed great grit all 54 holes and their confidence never wavered. Even in today's tough conditions I never saw anyone give anything but their best. Each player played a key role in this team victory."

Thain blistered the par 71 layout with 20 birdies in the tournament, setting the GNAC Tournament record and the all-time school and conference three-round scoring mark of 199. The lefty bettered the previous GNAC and WWU record of 200 set by Jake Koppenberg at the Grand Canyon Fall Invitational in 2007 and took down the old GNAC Championships mark of 203 set by WWU's Brett Johnson in 2016.

"The display of golf by Aidan over the past two days was something special," added Bennett. "I am honored I got to watch it and am thrilled for him to see all his hard work pay off. To back up his amazing play from yesterday to come out and show the lowest round in the final round was simply amazing."

Thain shot three consecutive rounds in the 60s for a 14-under-par tournament total of 199 (67-64-68) to record a 16-stroke victory over second-place finishers Jordan Lee (WWU), Bailey Bjornson (SFU) and Maxwell Turnquist (SMU). The senior carded three of the nine rounds in the 60s by the 25-player field and was the only player to shoot under par in Tuesday's final round.

Lee moved up the leaderboard to tie for 2nd place finishing at 2-over-par 215 with rounds of 72-69-74. The junior has now recorded a pair of runner-up finishes and another top-five placing in his three career GNAC Championships appearances.

Freshman Conrad Brown tied for 7th (+6, 70-70-79=219) and senior Devin Andrews tied for 10th (+9, 73-74-75=222) to join Thain and Lee in the top 10 in the field. Freshman Seth King tied for 16th place (+12, 72-74-79=225).
 

Both the WWU men's and women's teams won the team title and featured the individual medalist at the 2022 GNAC Golf Championships. Aidan Thain was joined on top of the leaderboard by Elise Sumner and both teams recorded a double-digit stroke victory. This marked the fourth time since 2011 and first since 2013 that the Vikings swept the top team awards at the conference championships.

Aidan Thain recorded three of the nine rounds that were sub-70 in the tournament amongst the 25-player field … Thain led all players with 20 birdies … Conrad Brown led the tournament recording a par on 38 of the 54 holes … Seth King was 4th in the field with 12 birdies … the Vikings final-round score of 12-over-par 296 was the best among the five-team field while going against windy and cold conditions … WWU entered the postseason as the top ranked team in the West Region and have now recorded three tournament wins this season (seven of nine in top five).

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from the 2022 GNAC Men's Golf Championships. The Vikings clinched their 10th GNAC title and second in the last three years.

The Vikings have now won 10 of the 14 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, returned to the podium in 2019 and added the 10 title this season. A Viking has now won nine of 14 individual medalist honors with Aidan Thain joining the elite list with his dominating performance in 2022, setting the tournament record at 14-under-par 199 for a 15-stroke victory.

Championships Quick Facts:

Course: Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course

Location: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Championships Format: 54 Holes (36 on Monday, 18 on Tuesday)

Par: 71   Yardage: 6,466 Yards

 

GNAC Tournament History (2008-22):

54-Hole Total - 199, Aidan Thain, WWU, 67-64-68 (April 18-19, 2022)

Single Round - 64, Aidan Thain, WWU (April 18, 2022) & 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)

 

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)

2022 - Western Washington (854)

 

Courses: 2008: Indian Canyon; 2009-2019, 2022: Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course; 2021: The Home Course * 36-hole tournament

 

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)

2022 - Aidan Thain, Western Washington – 199 (67-64-68)

Here is a look at the complete 2021-22 schedule for the WWU Men's Golf program, which included four fall and four spring tournaments leading up to the GNAC Championships. WWU will next play in the NCAA II West/South Central Super Regional May 5-7 in Pueblo, Colorado. All tournament recaps, season statistics and program history can be found on WWUVikings.com/MGolf.

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 23 seasons the program has competed at the NCAA Division II level dating back to the 1998-99 season, which includes this season after earning the automatic bid from winning the GNAC Championships. WWU placed 3rd at the 2013 national championship for the highest finish in program history. The program has produced 16 NCAA All-Americans and has won 10 of 14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008, including the 2022 title. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 9 of 14 tournaments with senior Aidan Thain joining the long list of conference champions in 2022.

Recap from GNACSports.com (by Paxton Ritchey):

Aidan Thain was already in a world of his own before teeing off in Tuesday's final round of the GNAC Men's Golf Championships from the Coeur d'Alene resort. Over the next 18 holes, the senior turned a victory lap into a chase for history and came away with an all-time conference record.

Thain finished his round at 3-under-par 68, creating a three-round total of 199 that is the lowest 54-hole score in GNAC history at any golf course. Thain finished at 14-under-par for the tournament and won the event by 16 strokes.

"I wasn't really thinking about the score, just having a good time," Thain said. "I think about anything but golf to keep my mind off it out there. It helps me stay relaxed and less stressed."

Thain didn't have any stress thanks to the eight-stroke lead he held into the final round after tying a GNAC Championships record with a round of 64 in the second round Monday. With more challenging weather conditions on Tuesday, Thain was the only player in the field to break par with his 3-under. He hit five birdies with two bogeys on the afternoon and finished with 20 birdies in the tournament, five more than any other player.

Another massive lead that only extended as Tuesday went on was Western Washington's team competition performance. The Vikings easily won the team title with a 54-hole score of 854, 22 strokes ahead of Simon Fraser. After Thain, Jordan Lee tied for second, Conrad Brown tied for seventh and Devin Andrews tied for 10th.

Western Washington has now won 10 of the 14 GNAC Men's Golf Championships that have been contested, but the Vikings hoisted the trophy for the first time since 2019 after there was no tournament in 2020 and Saint Martin's won the title in 2021.

"We're all close," Thain said. "We all push each other and we all know we're really good. We have a good team comrodary and it's just a fun group. We excel together."

With the individual and team races turning into a landslide, the drama came in the races for second. Individually, a trio of golfers tied for second behind Thain at 2-over-par 215: Simon Fraser's Bailey Bjornson, WWU's Lee and Saint Martin's Max Turnquist. Of the three, Bjornson had the best round of the day, firing a 2-over-par 73 and climbing from fifth place at the start of the day. Saint Martin's senior Dennis Geissler completed the top five two strokes out of second at 4-over-par 217.

Bjornson's effort paced a Simon Fraser team that held off the chasing pack to finish second. After Bjornson, SFU got a top-10 finish from Ryan Hodgins, who tied for seventh at 6-over-par 219, while Ryan Stolys, Kyle Mayner and Michael Crisologo all finished between 14th and 18th.

Led by their two top-five finishes, Saint Martin's finished third with a score of 883, seven strokes behind SFU. Defending champion Tyler Fitchett made a run up the leaderboard on Tuesday, shooting a 3-over-par 74 to move up four slots and salvage a ninth-place finish.

Montana State Billings finished fourth with a team score of 888, five strokes behind Saint Martin's. The Yellowjackets were paced by Dawson Strobel, who finished sixth at 5-over-par 218. Northwest Nazarene finished fifth at 906 and placed a top-10 finisher with Cole Evarts finishing tied for 10th at 222.