On Tuesday, the Penn State Altoona men’s golf team will embark on its fifth appearance in a national postseason tournament, when the Lions will tee off in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship at Mission Inn Resort and Club.
By virtue of its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship win in October, the Penn State Altoona men’s golf team secured the conference’s automatic qualification berth to compete in the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship, which begins Tuesday, May 10 and runs through Friday, May 13. The Lions will join 42 other Division III men’s golf teams and six individual golfers, all of which were officially announced by the NCAA last week, in a quest for the 2022 national title.
Penn State Altoona men’s golf is making its department-record fifth NCAA postseason appearance, as well as the program’s first since the 2011 season. The NCAA tournament berth comes on the heels of the Lions’ sixth AMCC title, which was earned after Penn State Altoona took first place by a 22-shot margin in the conference championship last October 18-19 at Butler Country Club.
The Lions’ lineup this week will be comprised of junior Andrew Ferguson (Altoona, PA/Tyrone), sophomore Trey Heffelfinger (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union), and freshmen Logan Divald (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin), Nathan Graham (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin), and Jacob Carlin (Fayetteville, PA/Chambersburg). Head coach Tom Koehle, in his 16th season at the helm of the program, will guide the way for his squad.
Ferguson was voted the AMCC’s 2021 Golfer of the Year and was also a first team all-conference selection. The junior finished second in the AMCC in scoring average (76.54) in the fall and currently possesses a 77.63 average in 19 rounds combined between the fall and spring semesters. Heffelfinger was also a first team All-AMCC pick, leading the league in scoring (75.0) during the fall and having a team-best 75.89 overall average in all 19 rounds for the Lions.
Divald took second team All-AMCC honors as a freshman during the fall, ranking fourth in the conference in scoring average (79.08) in September and October, and he currently holds a 79.0 overall average through the fall and spring semesters.
Graham has golfed in 11 total rounds for Penn State Altoona in the fall and spring semesters, finishing that span with a combined scoring average of 82.64. Carlin has played in 13 rounds for the Lions in 2021-22, compiling an overall average of 83.31.
Koehle was recognized for his and his team’s performance in the fall, as he was voted the AMCC Coach of the Year for the third time during his career with the Penn State Altoona men’s golf team.
The first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Championship will tee off at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. After those two days, the tournament field will be cut down, and the remaining teams will battle for the national crown on Thursday and Friday.