The St. Thomas Aquinas men's golf team finished in first place in the NCAA Division II East Region advancing them to the NCAA Championship.
The Spartans were led by senior Christopher Gentle who shot an eight under in his second round to take first place in the tournament. Gentle remainded in first place after shooting even par in his third round and finishing three under for the tournament. Gentle had four more birdies on day three, shooting one under in the front and one over in the back. The senior posted fourteen birdies in his three rounds.
Brendan Hunter was the second low score for the Spartans shooting six over after three rounds. Hunter finished day one in the lead after shooting even par. The junior had three birdies in his final round to finish tied for 5th place.
Michael Miranda shot his lowest round on the final day posting a three over, 75. Miranda had four birdies in his final round finishing tied for 34th place. Kevin Gately finished among the top 50 in the field while Michael Frizalone tied for 67th place. Frizalone had his best round on day two shooting a three over, 75.
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.