Championship Medal/Match Play Results
Stroke Play Results
Final Season Statistics
DANIELS, W.Va. – Making the cut is a tough proposition going up against the nation’s best, but Trevecca Nazarene established itself in that elite class while competing at the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships to conclude the 2018-19 season.
The Trojans were the first team in Great Midwest Athletic Conference history to advance out of the elusive super regional stage, ultimately playing in championship medal play in contention for the national title.
Getting there is much more difficult than it appears on paper. TNU finished fifth (of 20) at the Midwest/Central Regional down in Arkansas, posting the tournament’s best score in the third round (287) to end with a three-day total of 885.
Great Midwest Player of the Year Blain Turner led the charge with a seventh-place tie as he carded a 73-75-69--217 (+4). All-conference honorees Larken Whittemore and Ryan Rozic also were among the top three for the team as Rozic matched Turner’s 69 (-3) in his final round of play.
TNU was one of three Great Midwest schools competing in the Central/Midwest Regional along with Hillsdale and Findlay. This was the first time in league history that three schools qualified for the extended postseason.
The performance by TNU netted a trip to the NCAA DII Championships for stroke play at the Resort at Glade Springs in West Virginia. The Trojans needed to finish in the top eight programs to advance to championship medal play, the same level that Findlay’s women’s golf was able to qualify for.
Trevecca Nazarene, Great Midwest Coach of the Year David Head and co., saved their best for last once again, finishing fifth in stroke play. The Trojans posted a third-round score of 286, one of the top marks of the last 18 holes from the field of 20 schools.
The cutoff line for making championship medal play was 874 (Lincoln Memorial) as Barry won stroke play with an 846 (-18).
Trevecca Nazarene was the top non-Florida school in stroke play behind Florida Southern, West Florida, Lynn and Barry. Three of those four schools are from the Sunshine State Conference.
This time, the consistency of John Leverton was key for the Trojans to qualify for championship medal play. Leverton tied for 16th overall with a three-round score of 215 (-1). Leverton had two rounds of even par or better and started out with a 70 (-2) on the 7,114-yard course setup.
Turner, also the conference championship medalist this year for the second time in a row, finished tied for 35th along with Rozic. Whittemore’s second-round 71 (-1) helped him tie for 50th.
As a result of their finish in stroke play, the Trojans were the No. 5 seed for championship medal play and drew No. 4 seed Florida Southern in the quarterfinals. The Mocs from FSC ultimately prevailed with a 3-1-1 victory on the links, but it was a back-and-forth struggle for all 18 holes between the two schools.
No. 2 seed Lynn would eventually win the finals over No. 8 Lincoln Memorial by a final count of 3-2-0.
The Trojans officially broke the single-season conference team scoring record with a 291.7 per 18 holes. In similar fashion, Turner also set the conference single-season individual scoring record with a 71.83 per round. He broke his own mark of 72.65 as a freshman in 2017-18.