ESTACADA, Ore. – Trinity Western's men's team finished fifth overall in the Division 1 competition at the Cascadia Collegiate Invitational. The Spartans top group, including Jacob Visser, Owen Field, Everett Dabbagh and Zach Ruptash, finished the event at +3 after scoring even par on the third and final day of competition. 

The Spartans second team finished third in the Division 2 event, with a +3 for the tournament. TWU, which featured Ben Brandsma, Mattias Huberts, Ayden Tweedle and Bailey Neufeld, scored a Division 2-leading -4 to wrap up the competition Sunday. 

TWU missed out on a top three finish in Division 1, which would have secured a Division 1 berth at the national championships. The Spartans maintain their Division 2 berth for the national championships. 

FINAL STANDINGS
Division 1
UC Santa Cruz (-8) 
Western Washington 1 (-4)
Oregon State A (-3)
Boise State A (-2)
Trinity Western Black (+3)
University of Colorado Black (+29)

Division 2 
University of Colorado Gold (-2)
Oregon State B (-1)
Trinity Western Blue (+3)
Western Washington 2 (+14)
Boise State B (+23)
Oregon State C (+27)

QUOTABLE
Chris Hartmann, TWU Head Coach
"Our men's Division 1 team got off to a good start again but ran into some difficulty during the middle of the round, which kind of took them out of the running for qualifying for a Division 1 spot at the national championships.  As that was our key objective for the weekend, I think the guys felt a little disappointed, but there are lots of things to take away from this weekend. This is our first year not playing in Division 1, but it is getting increasingly more competitive with teams from Santa Cruz and Colorado travelling to this event for the first time to try to earn Division 1 and Division 2 bids. We'll now set our sights on getting ready for playing in Division 2 and Division 3 at nationals, which will be a little different but we're still very competitive and we look forward to playing some pf our best disc golf of the year.

"Our Division 2 team had a really nice finish to their event, shooting four under par, which was only one stroke off the best score of the day by any team in Division 1 or Division 2. They capitalized on some birdie chances with strong putting and only had one bogey – a key to scoring well at the Milo McIvor courses."

"The women's team finished up their event playing around their player ratings. It was a long five days for them, playing six rounds in five days on courses that are roughly 50 per cent longer than courses they play at nationals and with several of the rounds played in the rain. I'm really proud of them and how they handled everything. Today was a tough one. They battled the rain for four hours on the course and did so with very tired bodies. That being said, they worked hard at keeping positive and continuing to use this as a learning experience as we prepare for the national championships. I see real positive development in both of their games right now as certain things they have been working on are starting to click. It's great to see these things happening and the smiles on their faces when they realize it.

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  

-TW-