But with their No. 1 man slumping and the other four starters knowing they had little wiggle room, the Raiders put together the best round of the event in pulling out an 11-shot victory at the El Campeon course at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
It’s their fourth title in the last six years, their league-high 10th overall and their first back-to-back crowns since 2003-04.
“This one, surprisingly, feels a little better than the rest of them — just because of where we were in the spring. We were not playing good golf at all. Nobody was. But with the coaching and amount of work these guys put in, it tastes a little better,” said coach Conner Lash, who has three firsts and a second in his four years at Wright State.
After going a collective 18-over-par the first two days, the Raiders posted a 1-under 287 in the closing 18 holes — five shots better than the next-best round turned in by any of the 10 teams over three days.
They finished 17-over after going 8-under last year. Cleveland State was second at 28-over, IU Indy third at 29-over and Robert Morris fourth at 34-over.
The Raiders earned an automatic bid to the NCAA regionals and will find out their destination at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 1, on the Golf Channel. The regionals will be held May 12-14.
“We had a really good team meeting last night. It was nothing about strategy but more about mindset and mentality and being tougher than everyone else. If we get punched in the face, we’ve got to punch back. The guys knew what needed to be done,” Lash said.
Shane Ochs, a junior from Carroll, fired a 3-under 69 to finish second overall at 1-under. IU Indy’s Titus Boswell took medalist honors at 5-under.
“There definitely were a little nerves in the morning — but not as bad as I thought. I knew our guys were ready, and I believe in them a lot. I knew if I just put a solid round together, we’d get it done today,” Ochs said.
Sophomore Timmy Hollenbeck, who was runner-up last season, shot at 1-under 71 and finished in a tie for fourth at 2-over.
Fifth-year player Brock Rumpke, who started with a pair of 76s, carved out a 71 and tied for 11th at plus-7.
Junior Adam Horn had a 76 and finished in a tie for 14th at 9-over.
Fifth-year player Andrew Flynn, who won the individual title last season, went 77-77-80.
Five players tee off, and the four best scores count, meaning Flynn, who went 69-73-68 last season, wasn’t a contributor to the title march this year.
“Andrew didn’t have his best stuff, but he had a good attitude. That helped us as a team, knowing he’s back there trying to play his best. We wanted to do it for him,” Ochs said.
Ochs and Hollenbeck made the all-tourney team with top-five finishes.
“That was a really big step for Shane. He’s such a good athlete and has played so many sports, when he was younger, he might have thought he was playing soccer or basketball and tried (too hard) to go get it. But he stayed patient all day,” Lash said.
“He’s come a long way, and that’s going to be a big confidence boost for him.”
Counting their league tourney, the Raiders went 30-1 against other HL teams in 2024-25.
“Timmy played steady. He kind of had a look in his eye today. Brock has come a long way over the five years to put one of his best rounds together,” Lash said.
“Adam had a rough start, but I know he’s going to fight to the end. And Flynn is happy for the team. He’s a team guy. He’s struggling with his golf game, but I’m proud of him.”
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