Results: Stroke Play | Semifinals | Finals
GLIAC Website

AUGUSTA, Mich. - All Davenport men's golf had to do to improve its finish at the GLIAC Tournament for the third-straight season was finish fifth or better. With that being said, why not win the whole thing? Paced by Bradley Mogire's medalist honors on Saturday, the top-seeded Panthers defeated fourth-seeded Northwood, 4-1, and third-seeded Ferris State, 3-2, in medal match play on Sunday to claim the program's first-ever GLIAC Tournament Championship.

"To tell you what this means to our program, this means everything to our program," said head coach, Joe Hatch. "This weekend was a culmination of a lot of hard work by our guys and showcases the belief we have in not only ourselves, but our process. I can't say enough about how great our guys played and I have incredible faith, not just in the five that competed this weekend, but everyone on the roster. This effort embodies the spirit of our team and our program."

This year's GLIAC Championship, held at Stoatin Brae Golf Club, continued the format established four years ago in which all league members competed in 36 holes of stroke play on Friday and Saturday. The low four of five scores counted towards the respective team score with the top four teams advancing to head-to-head medal match play on championship Sunday. The bracket format is similar to the current format utilized at the NCAA Championships.

Starting with Mogire, the first-year Panther from Dubai, he topped the individual leaderboard with a four-under 138 (71-67) and was the only player in the 50-man field to shoot below 70 in round two. The 6-1 sophomore tied the school record for 18 holes (Nick Boone - 2007) in that second round and came within one stroke of the 36-hole mark (Ryan Kauppila - 2021). Mogire is the program's first GLIAC Individual Champion, but joins Zac Bested (2007), Boone (2008) and Adrian Balbas (2011) from the WHAC as past conference champs.
 
Mogire was joined in the top five by Noah Bridgeman in third with a two-under 140 (70-70), Ryan Kauppila in a tie for fifth with an even 142 (71-71) and Brandon Bodis, also in a tie for fifth (69-73). Rounding out the scoring for the Panthers was Logan Pechinski in 49th with a 21-over 163 (82-81).

As a team, Davenport bested second-place Grand Valley State (+15) by 21 strokes with a six-under 562 (281-281), which ties the team record for 36 holes. The Panthers broke the program's Division II record for 18 holes by seven strokes and came within seven strokes of the school's all-time mark of 274 set in 2007. As a member of the WHAC, Davenport won the league tournament in six different campaigns including 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2013.
 
Davenport will now await the official NCAA selection announcement set for Friday, April 22 at NCAA.com. The Central/Midwest Regional will take place May 5-7 at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. and is hosted by the University of Indianapolis.

Story by: Cooper Weidenthaler