Florence, Ind. – The University of Findlay men's golf team secured its' third Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) on Wednesday, April 22, defeating the Ashland University Eagles in medal match play by a score of 3-2. This is the fourth conference title in the NCAA era of the program and the second in the last three years.

"The fight our guys showed, not just the three that won, was awesome", said head coach Dominic Guarnieri.  "The first two hours were not at all what we envisioned but we always preach to stay in the moment and don't press. Our guys stayed patient and made some big swings late in the round. I'm really happy for our team on how they handled some adversity today to go and earn this championship."

The tournament, which was played at Belterra Golf Club, wrapped up with the two teams who finished atop the 54-hole team leaderboard battling in medal match play, a format during which players from each of the two teams go head-to-head against each other with the lowest 18-hole score earning a point for their team.

Junior Colin Schadek was the first match out and he never trailed. Through nine holes, after a birdie on the ninth, Schadek held a three-up lead, but a double on 11 and birdie by Ashland's Charlie Drapp on 12 tied the match. Schadek would take a one shot lead through 15, maintaining that lead to the par-five, 18^th tee. Drapp hit his second shot to 15 feet and Schadek answered by hitting the green as well. A long putt missed but left a tap in for birdie and a round of 73 (+2) and Drapp missed his eagle attempt to give Schadek a win and the Oilers a point.

Behind that group was senior Luke Metzger. A rough start saw Metzger down by three shots through ten holes. However, a couple of pars and then a birdie on 13 tied things up as his playing partner, Carter Mishler, made bogey on 11 and 13. Metzger stayed steady, birdieing the 18^th hole to win by three with a round of 77 (+6).

Needing just one more point, freshman Ross Dietz was next and, coming off of his first collegiate win and G-MAC Medalist honor, he did just enough to earn that point. His partner Michael Fickle struggled out of the gate as Dietz remained even through six holes but, led by five. However, a tripe bogey on the seventh hole made the match close again as his lead was trimmed to just two. Fickle pulled to within one shot through 12, but a chip-in birdie on the 13^th by Dietz gave him a two-shot cushion. Two more shots were added to his lead on the 14^th when Fickle made double bogey. Dietz parred out his remaining holes and won by four shots with a 74 (+3).

Senior Zach Miller and sophomore Cahle Roth rounded out the lineup for Findlay. Miller was down by as many as three on the front, but rallied to tie the match through 13 holes. He would finish with a 75 (+4), two shots behind his opponent Mark Pillar. Roth trailed by five through nine holes and was behind by as many as seven through 15. A pair of birdies coming home cut into the lead but he ultimately came up shy as his 75 (+4) was four shots behind Ashland's Shaun Mazzalupi.

With the win, Findlay, which is regionally ranked, has locked up a bid to the NCAA DII Super Regional which will be played at Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Michigan from May 7-9.

Great Midwest Athletic Conference Medal Match Play History

2022 – Tiffin def. Findlay

2023 - Ashland def. Tiffin

2024 – Findlay def. Kentucky Wesleyan

2025 – Ohio Dominican def. Findlay

2026 – Findlay def. Ashland