The Bluffton University men's golf team will return to the links this fall without three members who had been part of the program from the beginning. Takoda Pratt, Michael Fimiani and Julian Lavallee were on the initial team that Head Coach Adam Craig recruited after Bluffton brought golf back to campus for the 2017-18 school year. Pratt played an integral part in Bluffton's 6th place finish at the HCAC Championships as he rode out into the sunset with the best 54-hole score in school history by a pert 24 strokes thanks to back-to-back rounds of one over par (73) at Hidden Creek.
The Beavers shot a 309 on Sunday, May 2, just one stroke off the school record for 18 holes. When the three days were tallied up, Bluffton's 54-hole score of 943 at the HCAC Championships bested the previous school mark by over 60 strokes! Bluffton also established a new team record for 36 holes at the 2021 HCAC Preview at Hidden Creek.
Junior Clay Quellhorst (St. Marys/Memorial), who equaled the school record for 36 holes with a 151 at the HCAC Preview, led the Beavers with a scoring average of 80.75 in 2020-21 when the Beavers played a full slate of matches in spite of COVID-19. Dominic Castelvetere (Ontario) and Spencer Daniels (Ashland) were nipping at Clay's heels with season averages of 81.23 and 81.75, respectively.
Senior Nick Offenburger (Lexington) along with juniors Nathan Eberle (Grove City), Evan Kujawa (Toledo/Whitmer) and Justin Metsker (Burbank/Wickliffe) give the Beavers experience and depth heading into the 2021-22 fall season.
Also back for the Beavers is Brady Johnson (Delphos/Jefferson) who will be joined by talented freshmen Hunter Joliff (Elida) and Brayden Tosi (Springfield/Kenton Ridge).
Bluffton will be close to home when it opens its season on Sunday, Sept. 5 at ONU's Polar Bear Classic at Colonial Golf Club near Lima. The Beaver Fall Classic is slated for Bluffton Golf Club on Sept. 18-19 before the HCAC Preview at Miami Whitewater two weeks later. The Denison Fall Invitational caps off the first semester slate on October 16-17.
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