Augustana College Athletics

Andrew Benton named men’s golf “Most Outstanding Player” and Kyle Weigand “Newcomer of the Year”; Vikings finish eighth at CCIW tournament
 
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. –  With spring weather wreaking havoc on the 2008 portion of the Augustana men’s golf schedule, even the CCIW championship couldn’t escape unscathed. Weather conditions in Wheaton, Illinois on May 4 forced cancellation of the final round of the conference tournament as the Vikings finished eighth with a three round total of 324-317-356—997. The first two rounds were played in Bolingbrook, Illinois on April 18-19. Senior Andrew Benton (Vernon Hills HS, Vernon Hills, Ill.) was the top finisher for Augustana with an 80-75-93—248, good for a 25^th place tie.
 
The Augustana Invitational, scheduled for April 11-12, also fell victim to the weather, meaning coach Grey Giovanine’s Vikings were able to compete in just two events this spring prior to the CCIW championship.
 
The Vikings’ best finish this year came in September at Millikin’s Big Blue Classic, where they ended up third in a 14-team field. Individually, freshman Cole Wells (Tri-Valley HS, Downs, Ill.) finished in a third place tie with a 73-74—147. Senior Jeremy Smith (Clinton HS, Clinton, Ill.) finished tied for eighth with a 73-76—149 and Benton shot a 78-82—150, tying for 11^th.
 
Benton averaged 79.7 strokes over nine rounds and was named Augustana’s “Most Outstanding Player”. Freshman Kyle Weigand (Leyden HS, Franklin Park, Ill.) was named “Newcomer of the Year” after averaging 82.3 strokes in 10 rounds of play. Weigand’s best finish was a tie for 22^nd at the Big Blue Classic, when he also had his single best round of 75 on day two.
 
Wells averaged a team-best 77.8 strokes per round, although he played only four rounds this season. Smith averaged 82.4 over eight rounds of play and senior Eric Johnson (Vernon Hills HS, Vernon Hills, Ill.), last year’s CCIW individual champion, averaged 82.7 over his 10 rounds of competition. Another freshman, Bryan Hallene (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.), logged nine rounds of play and averaged 82.9 strokes a round. His best finish was a 14^th place tie at the Big Blue Classic.
 
The Vikings finished the year with a 24-36 record and were ranked 155^th in Division III by Golfstat.com.
 
2008 COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN TOURNAMENT
April 18-19, 2008 ** Bolingbrook Golf Club ** Bolingbrook, Illinois
May 3, 2008 ** Cantigny Golf Club ** Wheaton, Illinois
 

PLACE		TEAM	SCORES			TOTAL	PAR
	1	Illinois Wesleyan	294	296	312	902	+38
	2	Carthage	304	287	319	910	+46
	3	Wheaton	305	305	317	927	+63
	4	Millikin	303	298	332	933	+69
	5	North Central	326	308	331	965	+101
	6	North Park	312	318	336	966	+102
	7	Elmhurst	319	326	334	979	+115
	8	AUGUSTANA	324	317	356	997	+133

 

PLACE		PLAYER	TEAM	SCORES			TOTAL	PAR
	1	Tyler Wollberg	Carthage	74	69	75	218	+2
	2	Chris Green	Illinois Wesleyan	72	74	73	219	+3
	3	Bennett Blakeman	Illinois Wesleyan	73	74	75	222	+6
	4	Matt Carr	Carthage	74	70	81	225	+9
t	5	Kyler Ferguson	Wheaton	71	74	81	226	+10
t	5	Chase Yacko	Wheaton	74	75	77	226	+10
	7	Matt Wennmaker	Illinois Wesleyan	75	72	80	227	+11
t	8	Blake Blumenstock	North Park	74	77	79	230	+14
t	8	Cory Henry	Millikin	74	74	82	230	+14
t	10	JB Spillane	Millikin	76	72	84	232	+16
t	10	Chip Wedgeworth	Wheaton	79	78	75	232	+16
t	25	Andrew Benton	AUGUSTANA	80	75	93	248	+32
t	31	Eric Johnson	AUGUSTANA	84	81	85	250	+34
t	31	Kyle Weigand	AUGUSTANA	81	79	90	250	+34
	37	Bryan Hallene	AUGUSTANA	82	85	88	255	+39
	38	Jeremy Smith	AUGUSTANA	81	82	94	257	+41

 
2008 AUGUSTANA SUPERLATIVES
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER – Andrew Benton
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Kyle Weigand
INDIVIDUAL TOP TEN FINISHERS AT INVITATIONALS
9/29-30/2007 @ Big Blue Classic – 3^rd…Cole Wells with 147 (73-74)
9/29-30/2007 @ Big Blue Classic – 8^th…Jeremy Smith with 149 (73-76)