Northern Colorado Unanimous Selection to Win 2018 Men’s Golf Championship
OGDEN, Utah (January 30, 2018) – The Northern Colorado men’s golf team was a unanimous selection to win the 2018 Big Sky Championship, announced today by the league office.
The coaches’ poll features votes from each head coach in the Big Sky Conference. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
The Bears came in second place a year ago, but the fall season has propelled Northern Colorado to the top spot in the Big Sky men’s golf preseason poll. Sophomore Coby Welch returns for the Bears after earning Freshman of the Year nods and all-conference first team honors in 2017, while tying for second place at the championships. Junior Joshua Matz, the sixth-place finisher and second-team all-conference selection is also back and joined by fellow teammates junior Li Chen and senior Sam Marley, both honorable mention picks. Northern Colorado is the highest ranked Big Sky team coming out of fall play according to Golfstat.
Southern Utah slides into second-place, predicted to finish three spots higher than last season. The Thunderbirds received one first-place vote and 39 total points. Senior Fidel Concepcion was an all-conference first team honoree his junior season and has had a solid fall season. Sophomore Jake Vincent (third) and sophomore Ali Hameed (honorable mention) are the Thunderbirds top three scorers from last year’s championships.
Sacramento State, the league’s defending champions, was slated to finish third. The Hornets placed all five of its golfers in the top 19 in 2017, after a spectacular performance to capture the title. Sacramento State is without its top-two finishers from a year ago but return first-team all-conference honoree and top-five finisher Wonje Choi and second-team all-conference pick Devyn Fitchhorn. Landon Azevedo was the Hornets’ fourth finisher at the championships, while Zach Liberatore was an honorable mention selection, showing that Sacramento State has a very talented roster once again.
Weber State was voted to finish fourth with 34 points. The Wildcats return all five championship competitors, including three that finished in the top 10 – Kyler Dearden, Alex Herzog, and Sean Badger.
Idaho rounds out the top five (24 points) and has Enrique Marin a second-team all-conference pick returning. Marin claimed eighth place at the championships last year.
Binghamton and Hartford tied for seventh (17), while North Dakota was selected eighth (8).
The 2018 Big Sky Men’s Golf Championships will be held at the Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev. from April 27-29. The championship team will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship regional round.
2018 Big Sky Men’s Preseason Poll
1. Northern Colorado (7) 49
2. Southern Utah 39 (1)
3. Sacramento State 37
4. Weber State 34
5. Idaho 24
T6. Binghamton 17
T6. Hartford 17
8. North Dakota 7