GREENSBORO, N.C. – Thirteen of the top-25 NCAA Division III men’s golf teams ranked in the final 2013-14 Golfstat.com Relative Rankings square off Sept. 21-22 in the Tournament Town Championship Preview at the Grandover Resort. The 18-team event previews the 2015 NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held at Grandover Resort May 12-15. The fall and spring tournaments are co-hosted by the Greensboro Sports Commission and Guilford College.
Two-time national champion Oglethorpe University earned the top spot in the final 2014 Golfstat.com rankings and finished second in last May’s NCAA Division III Championships behind Schreiner University. Transylvania University, alma mater of Guilford head coach Corey Maggard, took third at the 2014 championships and is one of four teams headed to Greensboro after finishing ninth or higher in the national championship. Ten-time NCAA Division III champ Methodist University placed sixth in the tournament and was ranked fourth in the final 2013-14 Golfstat.com ratings. Guilford was 13th in the poll after its 17th-place NCAA finish. Despite missing the national tournament, Greensboro College stood 18th in the final Golfstat.com rankings and earned its second straight bid to the Tournament Town Championship Preview.
Oglethorpe University junior Anthony Maccaglia leads a distinguished field of 90 individuals in the tournament. The 2012 NCAA Division III national champion earned First Team PING All-America honors for the third straight season last year and was the first Division III golfer tabbed for the prestigious Palmer Cup team this year. He is one of at least eight 2014 All-Americans slated to play in the tournament. Guilford sophomore Tanner Gross (Archdale, N.C./Homeschooled), a second-team All-American and Division III’s top freshman last season, is the Quakers’ top returner.
This year’s 54-hole tournament is played on the par-72, East and West Courses at Grandover Resort in southern Greensboro. The teams will practice on both courses Saturday, Sept. 20, before opening the following day with 18 holes on both courses. The final round takes place Monday on the East Course.
2014 TOURNAMENT TOWN CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW PARTICIPANTS
School Location 2014 NCAA Final 2013-14
Finish Golfstat.com Ratings
Averett University Danville, Va. 31
Berry College Mt. Berry, Ga. 9 14
Christopher Newport University Newport News, Va. 34
University of Dubuque Dubuque, Iowa T29 24
Greensboro College Greensboro, N.C. 18
Guilford College Greensboro, N.C. T17 13
Hampden-Sydney College Hampden-Sydney, Va. 19
Huntingdon College Montgomery, Ala. 27
Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, Ill. 22 11
LaGrange College LaGrange, Ga. T9 8
Methodist University Fayetteville, N.C. 6 4
Millikin University Decatur, Ill. 29
Oglethorpe University Atlanta, Ga. 2 1
University of Rochester Rochester, N.Y. 11 21
University of St. Thomas St. Paul, Minn. 26
Transylvania University Lexington, Ky. 3 9
Trinity University San Antonio, Texas 20
Wittenberg University Springfield, Ohio 13 5