The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's golf team is currently ranked 20th in the country by the Bushnell Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll.  The Spartans entered the rankings this week after their first place finish at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional.

The Spartans led the whole way during the three day regional tournament, finishing with a 6-stroke lead over the second place team.  Senior Chris Gentle finished in first place with a three day total of 213, shooting 3-under for the tournament.  Gentle's best round came on the second day when he shot an 8-under with nine birdies in his round.  

Brendan Hunter was the second low scorer for the Spartans shooting six over after three rounds. Hunter finished day one in the lead after shooting even par, 72.  The junior had three birdies in his final round to finish tied for 5th place.  

The Spartans will advance to the finals, May 17-21, at Green Valley Ranch in Denver, Colorado as part of the 2016 Division II National Championships Festival. The finals will be hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver.  The top five teams from each region advance along with the top two student-athletes.  

This is the sixth time in the programs history that the Spartans have advanced to the NCAA Championship as a team.  The first time was in 2009 and the last time the team competed in the NCAA Championship was 2014.  In 2015, Niklas Koerner finished among the top of the leader board in the NCAA regional and advanced to the NCAA Championship.  

Bushnell Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll