Trojans Fire 10-Under to Win Ackerman-Allen Classic
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The 15th-ranked Taylor men's golf team fired a round of 12-under-par 276 en route to its seventh tournament title of the season on Monday as the Trojans claimed the Ackerman-Allen Classic.
Junior Mitch Lamping collected his third collegiate victory with a two-round total of 5-under-par 139 (71-68) at the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course on the campus of Purdue University. Lamping's 5-under total is the lowest 36-hole total of his career and propelled the Liberty Township, Ohio native to a one shot victory over teammate Nick Waskom.
Waskom fired rounds of 70-70 to finish at four under par and notch the fifth top-5 finish of his junior campaign. Senior Ian Rinken was the next Trojan on the leaderboard with rounds of 74-69 to finish at 1-under-par 143 and claim sixth place in the 57-player field.
Sophomore Alec Dutkowski bounced back from an opening round 75 with a final round 69 that included a back nine 4-under-par 32 to earn his fifth consecutive top-10 finish. Junior Trey Turner was the TU drop score both rounds with tallies of 76 and 72.
The TU A-team shot 2-over-par 290 in the opening round of the one-day, 36-hole event and trailed Saint Francis by nine shots after the Cougars tallied an opening round 281 (-7). The Trojans turned it on in the afternoon round, counting a 68 from Lamping, 69's from Rinken and Dutkowski, and a 70 from Waskom for a school-record team score of 276 (-12).
Taylor overcame the 9-shot deficit to finish with a ten shot victory with a school-record two-round total of 566 (-10). Saint Francis finished second at 576 followed by Indiana Wesleyan at 579, Lawrence Tech at 582, and the Taylor B-team at 586.
Freshman Nate Morris led the charge for the TU B-squad with a career-low round of 72 in the morning followed by a round of 74 in the afternoon to finish in a tie for 11th place at 146 (+2). Sophomore Jeremy Ray followed an opening round 71 with a final round 76 to finish in a tie for 15th place at 147 along with senior Nathan Edwards who shot 69 in the opening round followed by a 78 in the afternoon. Fellow senior Jordan Hall added rounds of 75-76 to finish in a tie for 31st while freshman Scottie Marston bounced back from an opening round 82 with a 73 in the second round to finish in a tie for 40th.
Senior Seth Neal tallied rounds of 78 and 84 while freshman Noah Miller shot 81-87 and junior Josh Stimmel shot 86-86 for the Trojans.
The tournament was the final tune-up for Taylor heading into next week's Crossroads League Championship at Pine Valley Country Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The championship will consist of 54 holes with 36 played on Monday followed by the final round on Tuesday. The Trojans are the reigning Crossroads League tournament champions and junior Trey Turner is the reigning individual champion.