Point Park claims River States Conference Men's Golf Tournament title

4/19/2017 12:00:00 AM

UNION, Ky. -- Point Park (Pa.) University is the back as conference champions. The Pioneers claimed the 2017 River States Conference Men's Golf Tournament title with a final-round score of 305 on Tuesday from Lassing Pointe Golf Course in Union, Ky.

The Pioneers, who were also champions of the conference in 2013, 2014 and 2015, held on to win by three shots over Asbury (Ky.) University. Point Park trailed Asbury by two shots after the 27 holes played on Monday but went out in front of the Eagles by five shots after two complete rounds.

With a lead of five shots over Asbury and six shots over third-place finisher IU East with 18 holes to play, Point Park came through with a team score of 305 over the final 18 holes to secure the victory. It was tied for the second-best round by any team in the tournament, bested only by Asbury, which made things very interesting with a tournament-best score of 303 in the final round.

As conference champions, Point Park advances as an automatic team qualifier to the NAIA Men's Golf National Championship May 16-19 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. It is the fifth time in team history and the fourth time in five years Point Park will compete at NAIAs.

Asbury's Matthew McCurry, a junior from Conroe, Texas, won the River States Conference individual championship as the medalist and qualifies for NAIAs as an individual. His tournament scorecard had rounds of 73-72-71 with an even-par performance over the final 18 holes. That earned him a one-shot victory over last year's champion, Taylor Suggs of Cincinnati Christian. Suggs shot 71-73-73.

Suggs claimed River States Conference Men's Golfer of the Year as the top player in the conference this year. That award takes into account the combined performance at the conference fall preview tournament earlier this year and the championship in the spring. He led the five-player All-River States Conference First Team, which signifies the top five players in the RSC. The next five players were named to the All-RSC Second Team.

Point Park's team victory was led by Gino DiPardo and Max Kaminsky, who both earned All-RSC First Team honors. DiPardo finished fourth with rounds of 73-74-76. Kaminsky placed sixth overall at 72-75-78. Gage Basiletti was a key to the win with a team-best 73 in the final round on his way to placing tied for 12th.

Asbury also had two players in the top 10 with winner McCurry first and also Ben Campbell in ninth. Campbell fired a 75 in the final round to keep the Eagles very close until the end.

Tyler Pearson placed third individually for IU East. He led the Red Wolves to third place as a team, and they were 13 shots off the lead in the final team standings. Pearson shot 72-72-75. IU East also had Ben Tinkle finish 10th overall.

Brescia (Ky.) University placed fourth as a team with Chance England taking fifth place to lead the Bearcats. He fired rounds of 76-75-73. Midway (Ky.) University was fifth with Granville Hayes placing a team-best seventh after scores of 74-78-77.

Also named at the tournament was the River States Conference Champions of Character Team. One player from each team was chosen as the team member who best exhibits the five character values of the NAIA's Champions of Character program, which are respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship.

For the complete team and individual leaderboards, click the results link above for tournament results on GolfStat, the official golf results provider of the River States Conference and the NAIA. Below are the 2017 All-River States Conference Men's Golf Teams and Awards.

2017 ALL-RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S GOLF TEAMS & AWARDS
RSC Men's Golfer of the Year -- Taylor Suggs, Cincinnati Christian
RSC Men's Golf Tournament Medalist -- Matthew McCurry, Asbury
RSC Men's Golf Coach of the Year -- Gabe Bubon, Point Park
RSC Men's Golf Newcomer of the Year -- Taylor Fletcher, IU Kokomo

2017 ALL-RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S GOLF FIRST TEAM
Taylor Suggs, Cincinnati Christian
Max Kaminsky, Point Park
Matthew McCurry, Asbury
Gino DiPardo, Point Park
Austin Taylor, Cincinnati Christian

2017 ALL-RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S GOLF SECOND TEAM
Braden Keown, WVU Tech
Chance England, Brescia
Ben Campbell, Asbury
Trevor Brown, Brescia
Taylor Fletcher, IU Kokomo

2017 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER TEAM
Dustin Tackett – Alice Lloyd
Zach Johnson – Asbury
Jacob England – Brescia
Nick Paone – Carlow
Taylor Suggs – Cincinnati Christian
Kole Schofield – IU East
Seth Grimme – IU Kokomo
Austin Mitchell – Midway
Evan Brouwer – Ohio Christian
Steven Bender – Point Park
Jesse-Frank Evans – WVU Tech