College Men’s Golf Results – Guilford Seventh After 36 Holes at Gordin Classic

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Guilford College shot 579 in Monday’s first two rounds of the Gordin Collegiate Classic at the Columbus Golf and Country Club. The Quakers are four strokes out of fifth place in the 18-team field.

Defending NCAA Division III national champion Illinois Wesleyan University delivered Monday’s low team scored in its second round with an 11-under-par 277 on the par-72, 7.098-yard layout. The second-ranked Titans are 14-under for the tournament at 562 and hold a three-stroke edge over Huntingdon College (285-280-565). Top-ranked Emory University (568), Wittenberg University (569), and Hampden-Sydney College (575) round out the top-five schools in a star-studded field.

The Quakers, ranked fifth in the current Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches Poll, held a two-stroke lead after the opening 18 holes. Guilford shot a season-low 283 thanks to a pair of 69s from James Mishoe and Zachary Evens. The second round proved more challenging for coach Adam Crawford’s team as it shot 296 (+8) and slipped into seventh place at 579.

Huntingdon All-American Drew Mathers fired an opening-round 64 (-8) and followed with a four-under 68. He enters Tuesday’s final round with a six-stroke lead over a group of five golfers that includes Illinois Wesleyan’s Rob Wuethrich and Emory’s Matt Organisak. The Quakers’ Mishoe shot 71 in Monday’s second round and is in sole possession of seventh place at 139. His 11 birdies in 36 holes trail only Mathers (14) and Hampden-Sydney’s Hunter Martin (12).

Evens followed his 69 with a 73 and is tied for 10th place in the 75-man field. Teammate Addison Manring (Stoneville, N.C./McMichael) parred 27 holes, which helped him into a share of 42nd place at 72-76-148. Guilford’s Louis Lambert is tied for 59th at 74-77-151. He shot two strokes lower than teammate Jack Lee (77-76-153).

The Gordin Collegiate Classic honors the memory of longtime Ohio Wesleyan University coach Dick Gordin. Gordin, who served as the Bishops’ golf coach from 1955-93, guided 22 of his last 25 teams to the NCAA Division III or College Division tournaments, bringing home six top-five finishes in his last eight years, including runner-up finishes in 1990 and 1993. Gordin was named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1993.

Hosted by Ohio Wesleyan since 1991, the Gordin Collegiate Classic annually matches 12 of the best Division III teams, featuring most ­if not all ­ of the top-10 finishers from the previous spring’s Division III Championship tournament. This year’s event includes 12 teams ranked among the top-25 in the current Division III Bushnell Golfweek Poll.

The tournament’s final 18 holes begin with a shotgun start Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.