2014 Men’s Basketball
Championship
SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – Nova Southeastern captured its first NCAA national championship on Satturday, defeating Chico State in a head-to-head final match in a 5-0 sweep.
In a five-day tournament, the Sharks finished the first three rounds second overall making the eight-team cut to advance to head-to-head match play. The Sharks battled through 36 holes Friday, defeating South Carolina-Aiken in the quarterfinals 4-1 before defeating Central Oklahoma in the semifinal round by way of the total strokes tie-breaker to advance to the national final against Chico State.
| DII MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP |
|---|
| Title match: Sharks dominant in win |
| Day Four: NSU to play for first title |
| Day Four: Chico State fights into final |
| Day Three: Wildcats hold on to lead |
| Day Two: Chico State takes lead |
| Day One: Central Oklahoma sits in first |
| Leaderboard: Team | Individual |
| • Field announced |
| • Championship history |
“Winning the first championship in the men’s golf program’s history is special,” said Director of Athletics Michael Mominey. “Garrett Runion has done a tremendous job in just his first year as the head coach. The players are really the ones who have to get the credit, as the men had a tremendous run winning the Sunshine State Conference championship on the way to this national championship. The grind of this particular championship says a lot about the character and the talent of this particular team.”
Leading the charge for the Sharks was No. 5 seed Mitch Farrer, who defeated Chico State’s Chris Doyle by eight strokes, shooting a 2-under-par 70 with four birdies and 12 pars. Farrer notched NSU’s first point.
“I remained patient all day,” said Farrer. “I made the shots that I needed to and it was flawless golf for me. We prepared all year for this day and it was just a brilliant performance by the whole team, everyone did their part.”
Recording the second point for the Sharks was the fourth seed, senior Ben Vertz, who shot a final round 73, defeating Chico State’s Bobby Bucey by one stroke. Vertz carded five birdies along with eight pars in the championship round.
No. 9 Ricardo Celia proved to be the final point needed to claim the Sharks first national title. Celia defeated Kevin Rei by one stroke, shooting an even-par 72.
Continuing the Sharks dominance, No. 17 Oscar Lengdèn claimed a fourth point, shooting a one-under 69 in the final round defeating Kyle Souza by two strokes.
Finalizing the clean sweep was No. 1 Benjamin Taylor, who defeated Eric Frazzetta by one stroke, carding a even-par 72.
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