PORTAGE, Mich. – At the Steven Tyler Memorial, the Trine University men's golf team was victorious after a third-place finish last season. The Thunder had a trio of student-athletes inside the top-5 to pace the team.
Junior Mark Civanich was rolling on the front nine with birdies on three-of-four holes spanning from holes 3-6. He added two more birdies on both par-5's on the back nine to be 3-under par through 17 holes. Unfortunately, a quad-bogey on the final hole put him at 73 for the day and dropped him into a tie for second-place on the player leaderboard.
Senior Mitch Lowney and freshman Carter Schnipke wrapped up 18 holes in a tie for fourth with scores of 75. Lowney had birdies on a pair of par-5 holes and went back-to-back on holes 14 and 15 on his way to a quality round. Schnipke was very consistent with a team-high 12 pars. He had consecutive birdies as well, on holes seven and eight.
The newly named Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Athlete of the Week senior Charlie Eriksen finished tied for 23rd with an 82. He hit for birdie on two holes. Junior Carter Rang scored an 88 (T-40th).
The Trine "B" team finished fifth, led by sophomores Kyler Rod with a 78 and Nick Coccaro at 79. Both team members finished inside the top-10 as individuals, with Rod in a tie for eighth and Coccaro tied for tenth.
On Saturday, April 15, the road to the NCAA DIII National Championships begins as the men will compete at Glendarin Hills Golf Club for round one of the MIAA Automatic Qualifier event. In total, three rounds of golf will be played to determine what team from the conference advances to the final event of the season.