WESTWORTH VILLAGE – The third-ranked Wayland Baptist men's golf team secured its fourth straight tournament win here Tuesday, dispatching a pair of Sooner Athletic Conference rivals in the process.
Teeing it up at Hawks Creek Golf Club, the Pioneers – led by another runner-up finish from
Sebastien Tremulot – turned in rounds of 290, 276 and 286 for a 12-under 852 total. That left them 15 shots in front of No. 12 Oklahoma City University and 21 ahead of No. 8 Texas Wesleyan, the tourney host which finished third. Another ranked NAIA team in the nine-school field was No. 7 Morningside, Iowa, which came in sixth behind Ranger College and Texas Wesleyan's "B" squad.
Team Results
Individual Results
Teams & Individuals Combined
"It was a good team effort," Wayland coach
Tom Harp said, who was awed by his team's second-round, 12-under 276 when four Pioneers shot under-par.
"Twelve-under is the lowest round we've ever posted on that course. Our lowest before was 10-under, and that was by the No. 1 team in the country…and in better weather. That says a lot about the team."
Caught by darkness on Monday, Wayland finished up round two Tuesday morning before setting off on the final 18. Harp said winds blew 20-30 mph during the third round.
"All seven guys played well today," Harp said. "When you have guys not even in your top five who can go shoot even on that course, it's awesome."
The Pioneers have won their last four tournaments, starting with the Andrews Invitational and the Innisbrook Invitational in Florida last fall. They won the TPC NAIA San Antonio Shootout to kick off the spring schedule last month.
Tremulot was steady throughout the tournament, firing identical 69s in his first two trips around the par-72 layout before a final 70. His 8-under 208 left him one shot behind the winner, David Meyers of OCU, who shot 69-71-67—207. Tremulot tied for second with Texas Wesleyan's Tyron Davidowitz (69-68-71—208).
"I was truly impressed with Sebastien," Harp said. "He played really steady. He's worked super hard, and I'm happy for him."
Tremulot also took second, for the second straight year, in San Antonio.
"Both tournaments this spring have been really solid for him," Harp said.
Wayland's
Joshua Smedema (75-70-69—214) and newcomer
Jay Nathwani (70-67-77—214) tied for sixth place, while
Sentanio Minnie (76-70-75—221) placed 14
th and
Jake Craft (78-73-72—223) tied for 16
th in the 50-golfer field. Playing as medalists, Pioneers Vlastil Miler (77-75-72—224) and
Zane Welborn (77-76-73—226) tied for 18
th and 20
th, respectively.
"Jay played great for us (Monday)," Harp said of the 67 submitted by the freshman from Tanzania. "That shows a lot of the talent he has. He's played well since the moment he got (to Wayland)."
While obviously pleased with another win, Harp said the team isn't satisfied with how they played.
"We definitely haven't played our best golf. Some things we can improve on, and need to improve on, before we get to Primm," the coach said of the upcoming Battle at Primm in Nevada March 22 and 23.
"We need to work hard on our short game and wedges. We're a really strong ball-striking team and we're really strong putters, but we definitely need to get better inside 100 yards. If we do that then I think we have an opportunity to do some things in the post-season.
Wayland will see top teams at Primm, including No. 1 Point, Ga., which the Pioneers also will face the following tournament in Georgia.
"That will be fun," Harp said. "I think our guys are looking forward to improving and going against some of the top teams."
