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KETTERING, Ohio (10/20/2015) -- Senior
Wil Wittmann and the University of Detroit Mercy men's golf team came into the second round trailing the leaderboard by eight shots, but by the end of the day, it was a pair of Titan victories taking center stage at the Dayton Flyer Invitational on Tuesday.
Detroit came into the second round in fifth place after firing a 311 in round one, eight behind first-place Oakland, but carded a season-low 287 on the final 18 to beat the Golden Grizzlies by five strokes totaling a season-best 598 score at the Par 71, 7,055-yard NCR Country Club's South Course.
The win was the first by the Titans since claiming the 2013 Detroit Titan Invitational.
Wittmann on the other hand was just as hot as the rest of his team tallying five birdies and 11 pars in the second round to jump all the way up to a first place tie with a 146 (78-68), finishing round two with a 3-under 68. He then went into a playoff with IUPUI's Austin Winings and on the first hole, which was statistically one of the hardest on the course, he made par for his first collegiate win and the first by a Titan since 2011.
Junior
Kyle Gaines and sophomore
Eric Macrow tied for 10th with a 150, a career low for Macrow, while senior
Josh Shaw shared 16th posting a 152.
The tournament was the final for the Titans in the fall non-traditional season.
THE SCORECARDQUOTE OF THE DAY- "I am thrilled with the way the guys came together and closed this out. We have shown hints of our potential throughout the fall and today, the guys were patient and played great out there." – Head coach Luke LaFave '02
FIRST WIN SINCE 2013- The win was the first for head coach Luke LaFave '02, who is now in his second year as the Titan head coach at his alma mater.
- The victory was also the 25th by Detroit since 1987 and the first since claiming the top spot at the 2013 Detroit Titan Invitational.
WIL THE THRILL- Wil Wittmann won his first collegiate title coming back from eight strokes behind as he followed his opening-round 78 with a 3-under 68.
- The win was also his 15th career top-20 effort and his eighth career top-10 mark.
- The victory by a Titan was the first since Mark Hicks won the 2011 Titan Invitational.
- The win was his best finish since he took third at the Bradley Invitational as a sophomore in 2014.
WHAT A SECOND ROUND- Wil Wittmann posted his season-best 3-under 68 in round two, just one off his career low.
- He now has 15 career rounds of par or better.
- He led the team with seven birdies – tied for the second-most in the field – while adding 20 pars.
- He led the team and was tied for the second-best mark among the golfers with a +2, 4.09 average on the course's Par 4's.
EAGLE HIGH- Junior Kyle Gaines and sophomore Eric Macrow each tallied an eagle in the tournament, and both did so on the Par 5 sixth hole. Macrow got his in the second round, while Macrow knocked it down in Monday's opening play.
ALL GAINES- Kyle Gaines earned his seventh career top-10 mark as he tied for 10th with a 150.
- He also improved from the first round ending the final 18 with a 2-over 73, including 13 pars and an eagle.
- Overall, he had 19 pars and three birdies.
CANADA'S FINEST- Eric Macrow posted his first career top-10 finish by tying for 10th with a career-best 150 as he also improved from a 77 in round one to a 73 on Tuesday.
- The 150 was his career best by three shots.
- He tied for the team lead with 20 pars and also had an eagle and three birdies.
SENIOR STRIKE- Josh Shaw ended the tournament sharing 16th place, his second career top-20 mark and the first since tying for 19th at the 2014 Bradley Invitational as a sophomore.
- His 2-over 73 in the final round was a season low and just one away from his career low.
- He drained a team-best 24 pars, tied for the third highest among the competition.
THOMPSON COMES BACK STRONG- David Thompson ended the tournament and the fall with a 77, tying for 77th with a 163.
- He ended his first fall as a Division I player with scores in the 70's in nine of his 11 rounds
TAKING ADVANTAGE- Detroit led the field on the course's Par 3's with a -5, 4.84 average and was tied for first on the Par 4 scoring average with a +36, 4.32 mark.
- UDM's two eagles were the most in the field and the 21 birdies were second.
WRAP-UP- "Wil (Wittmann) was patient and he rebounded in a big way to get into the playoff hole and then he played the first hole great. That was one of the toughest holes in the tournament, and he was able to put in the par for the win. He has been so close so it was great to see him win. "
- "I was really impressed with Josh (Shaw) and the way he came out and played and took advantage of his time out here. He was solid for us and just shows how deep we are as a team." - Head coach Luke LaFave '02
UP NEXTThe Titans will now have the winter off to train and practice as they get ready for the spring championship season. The spring schedule will be released shortly.
