The OC men's golf team played through unfriendly weather conditions May 3-4 in the Green River Tournament, and had beautiful conditions for the NWAACC Championships in Walla Walla May 17-18, as they finished 6 and 7, respectively. Despite the good weather that allowed the team to crank up their game Sunday in Auburn and make a run at leaders Bellevue Community College and Community College of Spokane, head coach Daryl Matheny said the team continued to make the same mistakes they have all season. "It was like our tournament in Spokane," said Matheny. "We had some good tee shots and stayed on the fairway, but our chipping and our putting has got to get better." The weather did turn sour on Monday as the team tried to improve on their opening day ranking, but stayed right where they were and only gave up one stroke from their previous team round. Matheny said he felt that the weather had little impact on his team's performance. "The weather was marginal, but it was pretty nice overall," said Matheny. "We were sixth after Sunday, and finished sixth for the tournament, so the weather didn't impact us much." OC shot a 313 as a team on Sunday, and followed their mediocre opening round performance with a 314. They closed out the tournament with a 627, finishing in the middle of the 11-team tournament in Auburn. Ben Nelson led the Rangers, as he shot 76-76 for a total of 152, tied for 8. Tim Myers also had two solid rounds, shooting 77-81 for a 158. Ajandra Singh's best round was a 78, and Joel Schienfeld's was a 77. The team was fully prepared to improve where they had been struggling all season as they traveled to Walla Walla for the NWAACC Championships at Veteran's Memorial Golf Course, which left their coach optimistic about next season. "We've got a lot to look forward to next year," said Matheny. "These kids played hard all season, and they'll get better." While OC finished seventh out of the 11 teams who entered, Nelson and Singh showed promise for next season. Nelson finished with a 73-71 and a final score of 144, placing him 15 overall and 10 strokes away from the individual title. Singh finished with a 73-73, shooting a 146 and tied for 20. Schienfeld shot a final of 151, Myers a 157, Brad Guzman a 159 and Jordan Swanberg a 165. Matheny said that he felt all his players put in a great season, but Nelson in particular shined brightest all year. "I would have to give player of the year award to Ben Nelson," said Matheny. "It was a tough decision because all of my kids had what I thought was a great spring but Ben has really put the time in and it showed in his performance. He is as dedicated to school as much as his golf game."
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