Concordia finishes 19th in NCAA East/ Atlantic Regional

Wed, 05/09 | Men's Golf NCAA DII East / Atlantic Regional Jeffrey Schaller (T-57), Sam Deitte (T-71) (Final) R | RC
Tue, 05/08 | Men's Golf NCAA DII East / Atlantic Regional Jeffrey Schaller (T-50), Sam Deitte (T-79) (Day Two Final) R
Mon, 05/07 | Men's Golf NCAA DII East / Atlantic Regional Jeffrey Schaller (T-58), Sam Deitte (T-92) (Day One Final) R
Tue, 04/24 | Men's Golf Concordia Classic (Cancelled)
Mon, 04/23 | Men's Golf Concordia Classic (Cancelled)

The Concordia College golf team finished in 19th place at the NCAA East/ Atlantic Regional, which was held May 2-4 at Hershey Links CC in Hummelstown, PA. The Clippers were led by sophomore Jeff Schaller (Kingston, NY), whose three-day total of 73-76-76 -- 225 placed him in a tie for 23rd place in the 108-player field. Freshman Sam Deitte (St. Louis, MO) carded a three-day total of 73-81-79 -- 231, landing him in a tie for 54th place.

As a team, the Clippers shot rounds of 310-315-328 -- 953 to finish 19th in the Regional. This was Concordia's first year as a varsity sport and the program's first-ever NCAA appearance.

St. Thomas Aquinas College (280-293-298 -- 871) won the tournament. Rounding out the Top Five were Indiana University-PA. (288-295-298 -- 881), Wilmington University (300-291-298 -- 890), Concord University (302-287-303 -- 892) and American International College (297-296-303 -- 896).

Jared Schmader (67-74-71 -- 212) of Clarion University won the individual competition. Chris Fitzpatrick (68-72-73 -- 213) of St. Thomas Aquinas and Andreas Reideborn of (71-73-69 – 213) of Concord tied for second place.

Concordia freshman Lorenz Kolmeder (Bavaria, GER) contributed rounds of 79-77-90 -- 246 to finish in 95th place. Fellow freshman Kyle Grandilli (Ontario, CAN) kicked in with rounds of 85-81-83 -- 249 to place in a tie for 97th. Clipper sophomore Will Deitte (St. Louis, MO) shot 90-98-94 -- 282 to land in 108th place.

"It was a lot of fun and an amazing experience for us," commented coach Scott Allen. "To have two players finish in the upper half of an elite field is fantastic. It was our season long goal to be here and we accomplished it. We thank everyone at the college for their support. The kids wore down a bit at the CACCs and ran out of gas here. They played under enormous pressure all year and it caught up to us a bit. That said, having gone through these experiences, the team now understands the rigors of both college life and college athletics from A to Z. The one club we'll have in the bag next season that we weren't carrying this year is experience and experience on the biggest stages. I hope it was a great experience for the students and something that the entire Concordia community can be proud of. The team tried their best and I am proud of them as well as indebted to them for their efforts all year. It was a lot of fun for me and I hope for them as well."