HERSHEY, Pa. – The IUP men's golf program won its 29th all-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship this weekend at the Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
It was a runaway win for the Crimson Hawks who posted the top score in each of the tournament's three rounds on Hershey's par 71 East Course.
IUP finished the weekend with a 53-over 905 and was 13 strokes better than second place West Chester (918). The Crimson Hawks held a one stroke lead after the first round, increased it to seven strokes after a tournament-best 294 on Saturday, and shot six strokes better than anyone else in today's final round.
After West Chester, Gannon and Millersville tied for third with a 928 and Cal U was fifth with a 938. The rest of the standings included Mercyhurst in sixth, Shepherd in seventh, Clarion in eighth and Pitt-Johnstown in ninth.
The 29 league titles are by far the most of any PSAC school. Slippery Rock, which doesn't have a men's golf team anymore, has 14, Clarion eight, West Chester five, Millersville four, with four other schools winning one each.
This was IUP's third title in the last four years, also winning in 2016 and 2017. The Crimson Hawks have been dominant this century with 12 championships since 2000.
It was the first conference crown with head coach
Dan Braun. Braun took over for the retiring Fred Joseph last spring and has guided the Crimson Hawks to five wins in 11 tournaments. Joseph won 13 of IUP's conference titles.
IUP's top four scorers all finished in the top-10 individually, including freshman
Shaun Fedor who earned medalist honors. Fedor finished in a three-way tie with a 10-over 223 before defeating West Chester's Chris Warner and Shepherd's Owen Elliott in a playoff.
Fedor is IUP's 16th PSAC individual champion since 1993.
Senior
Jeremy Eckenrode finished two strokes back of the three-way tie at the top, shooting a 12-over 225 to finish fourth overall.
Freshman
Richie Kline was one stroke back of Eckenrode in a tie for fifth place with a 13-over 226 while sophomore
Jack Buccigross shot an 18-over 231 to finish in 10th. Sophomore
Nicholas Ward was IUP's fifth golfer and finished in 32nd place with a 30-over 243.
The win wraps up the fall season for the Crimson Hawks, who won three of their five tournaments.
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For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's golf on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPgolf.
