Results

WHEELING, WV – The IUP men's golf team completed its comeback, rallying from four strokes back in the third round to finish in first place at the 2013 NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Super Regional Championships at Oglebay Resort's Robert Trent Jones Course.

Zack Kempa (Brantford, ON/Assumption College School) also participated in his own comeback to take the individual title, shooting a two-under 69 in the final round on Wednesday. He finished with a one-over par 214 for the tournament.

The win secures an automatic bid to the NCAA championships for the Crimson Hawks, which will be played in two weeks at the Hershey Country Club East Course. This will be the sixth consecutive trip for IUP and its 11th in the past 20 years.

IUP found itself 10 strokes off the lead after the first round on Monday. The Crimson Hawks shot a 24-over 308 and were tied with the University of Charleston for second overall behind Wilmington University. They rebounded in the second round, improving by 13 strokes with an 11-over 295, the best team score of the day, and still sitting four strokes back of Wilmington.

The Crimson Hawks continued their improvement in the third round, shooting a four-over 288 to gain the lead and defeat Wilmington by five strokes.

Kempa finished with a four-over 75 in the first round, tied for sixth place overall and three shots off the lead. He came back in the second round with a one-under 70, closing his gap with Millersville's Robert Coyne to two strokes entering Wednesday. Kempa also continued his improvement with his 69 in the third round while Coyne shot a one-over 72 and finished in second place.

Kempa had four birdies and two bogeys in the final round, all on the first nine. He went even par on the back nine as his consistency kept him in the lead down the stretch.

Teammate Jack Owen (Hampshire, U.K./Brockenhurst College) finished in a tie for 10th place overall with a 12-over 225. Kenny Sames (Moscow, Pa. /North Pocono) finished in a tie for 27th with a 16-over 229 while Derek Baker (Waynesboro/Waynesboro) came in a tie for 34th with a 17-over 230. Sean Sweithelm (Indiana/Indiana) rounded out the IUP lineup with a 19-over 232, finishing in a tie for 39th.

All five IUP players had their best round on Wednesday. In addition to Kempa's two-under, Sweithelm shot a one-over, Owen a two-over, Baker a three-over and Sames a four-over.

The NCAA championships are set to get underway on Monday, May 20. The three-day tournament wraps up on Wednesday, May 21.