Williamsburg, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg men's golf team won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship Tuesday for the seventh time in program history and first since 1989.
The Hornets shot +17 (297-293-291--881) and beat out second-place Hampden-Sydney by 15 strokes. It marks the largest winning margin by any ODAC champion since Guilford paced the field by 33 in 2018. The Hornets led at the completion of each round fueled by a different player each day. Simon Burgos and Harrison Smith both shot +1 in Round 1, Andrew Watson and Alan Van Asch both fired 71s in Round 2, and Burgos once more paced the Hornets in Round 3 to help carry them to a comfortable victory. Burgos was -3 Tuesday as the only competitor in the 55-player field to go under par that day, and his 69 is the second-best round of his sophomore season. He shot a 68 at the Gate City Invite in September. Burgos (73-77-69--219) moved up 11 spots Tuesday into second place, and by doing so, he is the first Hornet to finish as the runner-up at the ODAC championship since Justin Heimer did it in 2001.
Burgos was not the only hero for the Hornets on the weekend as all five Lynchburg golfers placed in the top-20, and Burgos was joined in the top-10 by two teammates.
Watson (75-71-74--220) tied for third place after finishing third a season ago. He capped off his final ODAC championship with a birdie on 18.
Van Asch (76-71-76--223) tied for sixth. He made 12 birdies during the tournament including six on Monday.
Smith (73-79-75--227) tied for 12th after moving up six spots on Tuesday with three birdies on the back-9. He made four birdies on the front-9 Sunday and had nine for the tournament.
Eddie Coffren V (82-74-72--229) had two great rounds to finish out his third ODAC championship after shooting +10 in Round 1. He started out Round 3 with four pars and two birdies and moved up a total of 26 spots in Rounds 2 and 3. After play on Tuesday, Coffren V owns the lowest career average in program history at 73.05.
Coffren V earned the ODAC's golfer of the year award with a 72 scoring average over the regular season. Entering play Sunday, Coffren V was the 13th-ranked player in Division III with three top-3 finishes on the year. He is the eighth ODAC golfer of the year in program history after winning the award as a freshman in 2022. Director of men's and women's golf Michael Veverka earned the ODAC's coach of year distinction and joined six-time ODAC golf coach of the year Bill Shellenberger as only the second coach in program history to win the award.
Veverka not only coached the team to its first championship in 35 years and Coffren V to his second player of the year award, but also coached Watson to his fourth All-ODAC performance and second time on the first team. Smith also was named to the All-ODAC third-team.
Lynchburg's historic season that featured six top-5 tournament finishes doesn't end with the ODAC title. The Hornets will play at the NCAA championships in Boulder City, Nev. beginning Tuesday, May 14. Lynchburg is the seventh-ranked team in the country.
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