October 10, 2017
SUNY Delhi Wins 2017 USCAA Golf National Championship
State College, PA – After a wet and rainy first day, round two of the USCAA Golf National Championship had blue skies and mild temperatures. The day started out with Cleary University leading the field, while Saint Mary of the Woods College and Georgia Northwestern Technical College were a few strokes behind. A second day surge from SUNY Delhi surprised the field after finishing Day 1 in 4th place helping them capture the 2017 USCAA Golf National Championship. Delhi finished the tournament at 28 over par for a total at 604 for the two-day championship. Leading the Delhi team were All-Americans Russell Herbert (+1) and Aaron Oliver (+9).
Rounding out the field included Cleary finishing in second at 609 and Saint Mary of the Wood’s College earning third place honors with a score of 611 for the first year program. In the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) Championship, Penn State DuBois and Penn State Lehigh Valley had a team playoff in which five players from each squad were sent the 18th hole to square off for conference honors. In exciting fashion, DuBois won the tie-breaker and were named the 2017 PSUAC Golf Champions.
In the USCAA individual field, everyone in attendance was in for a treat – SUNY Delhi’s Herbert and Saint Mary of the Wood’s College Colton Kuppler were tied at 1 over par and also headed to a playoff to determine the top golfer in the USCAA. Despite Herbert struggling with his tee-shot, he worked his way out of a bunker which set himself up to par the hole. But before he got a chance, Kuppler one-putted to birdie the par 5 en route to a Saint Mary of the Woods golf third place finish.
In the awards banquet, the USCAA awarded the 2017 Student-Athlete and Coach of the Year. Daniel Smith of Penn-State New Kensington received the Male Student-Athlete of the Year honors and Carlow’s Natalie Abt received the Female Student-Athlete of the Year award.
The 2017 USCAA Golf Coach of the Year went to Joey Maben of The Apprentice School. Maben, who has coached the Builders golf team for nearly a decade, improved upon his team’s national championship finish from last year, placing fifth out of 19 teams this year. The Apprentice School finished just 13 strokes behind SUNY Delhi.
Carlow University’s Natalie Abt won the USCAA Women’s Golf Invitational Championship, averaging 80 strokes per round this week. Abt finished the tournament with three different awards; Women's Golfer Student-Athlete of the Year, Women’s Invitational Medalist, and National All-Academic award honors.
2017 Woman’s Golf Invitational Medalist
Natalie Abt, Carlow University
2017 USCAA Golf Student-Athlete of the Year
Daniel Smith, Penn State New Kensington
2017 USCAA Golf Coach of the Year
Joey Maben, The Apprentice School
2017 USCAA Golf National All-Academic Team