Men’s golf takes home fifth consecutive RMAC Golf Championship

UCCS Golf clinched its fifth consecutive RMAC Golf Championship with a second place spring championship  nish last Tuesday in Florence, Ariz.

Despite losing a fivestroke lead going into the final round of play at the spring championship, UCCS managed to record a second place finish, while New Mexico rallied to win by shooting a final total of 288. UCCS ended the day scoring 297, its worst round of the tournament.

The second place finish did not hinder the massive amount of success the Mountain Lions accumulated throughout the course of the year: The second place finish still brought UCCS its finish consecutive RMAC men's golf championship, which aggregates the fall and spring championship scores.

The team also brought home the RMAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards, as well as clinching the Steel & Silver Series, the annual competition between UCCS and its rival CSU Pueblo.

The RMAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards were made official on April 22. Junior Chris Shoop walked away with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year award and teammate Spencer Biersdorff was named Freshman of the Year in the RMAC.

Not only did the team win its fifth consecutive RMAC championship but Shoop's individual award makes four out of the last five years where a player from UCCS has been issued RMAC player of the year.

The RMAC Championship Trophy is based on the accumulative scores of the fall and spring championship events for each team. The Mountain Lions combined score of 1,173, which was five strokes better Western New Mexico, secured the victory and allowed the team to take home its fifth h consecutive RMAC Championship.

Out of the eight tournaments in which the team has competed this season, including both fall and spring, the Mountain Lions have achieved seven top ten finishes, with six of those resulting in top five.

With momentum and success resonating throughout the team's season, UCCS saw nothing less than near perfection at the RMAC Spring Championship in Florence, Ariz. over April 19-20.

Everything went the Mountain Lions' way as tournament play commenced on Monday. Junior Chris Shoop's impressive performance, combined with great output from his supporting cast, thrusted the team into a number one finish after day one of play. Shoop led all golfers by shooting two consecutive 3-under par rounds which resulted in a final score of 138.

Freshman Spencer Biersdorff followed Shoop with a score of 141, while junior Riley Andrews and sophomore Michael Tilgham scored 149 and 152, respectively. Red-shirt freshman Mitch Buchner finished the day scoring 156.

The Mountain Lions will continue their search for a national championship as they prepare for the NCAA Central/West Super Regional tournament in Palm Desert, Calif. The stepping stone finale will take place on May 3-5.