Anderson, DWU men honored by GPAC
Matt Higgins • The Daily Republic

Adam Anderson

The Dakota Wesleyan University men’s golf team dominated the field to win the title at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships in late April, so it was no surprise that the Tigers were well-represented when the All-GPAC team was announced Monday.

DWU coach Adam Anderson headlined the selections, earning GPAC coach of the year honors for guiding the Tigers to the conference title. It was the men’s first GPAC crown in Anderson’s three seasons, and his second GPAC honor. He was the GPAC women’s coach of the year in 2006, and he has been the Region III women’s coach of the year all three years he’s been at DWU. However, Anderson said this honor is special because the GPAC coaches try to vote for the best coach, regardless of how the team finishes.

“It really means a lot to win the GPAC coach of the year,” Anderson said. “That’s voted on by your fellow peers in the GPAC. It doesn’t always necessarily go to the team that wins the conference. I think it makes me feel real good that the other coaches recognize what we’ve been able to do here. A lot of it is validation of the hard work we’ve been doing here.”

In addition, three DWU players earned first-team all-conference honors, while one other earned honorable mention status.

Freshman Tyler Evenson, junior Brett Abbotts and senior Tom Hoek were all named to the GPAC all-conference team, and Mitchell native Nick Gates, a sophomore, was named honorable mention by the league coaches.

“Having four of our five guys make all-conference or honorable mention says a lot about the individuals and the balance on our team,” Anderson said. “Everyone kind of steps up at a different point and time, and it does speak volumes about how we perform well as a team.”

DWU shot a 602 (305-297) over two days at the GPAC Championships to claim the conference title by 11 strokes at Green Valley Golf Course in Sioux City, Iowa. Evenson finished third to lead the Tigers at the meet with a two-day total of 147 (72-75). Abbots was seventh with a 149 (75-74), Gates tied for 13th with a 154 (82-72) and Hoek was tied for 23rd with a 156 (80-76).

The Tigers’ season ended April 29 at the Region III meet in Sioux Falls when it finished second, just a single stroke behind Midland Lutheran (618-619). At the region meet, Abbotts and Gates tied for eighth with identical 154s. Evenson was 10th with a 155 and Hoek was tied for 11th with a 156.

“There are 15 spots on the all-conference team and four honorable mention selections, so that means we had four out of the top 19 golfers in the GPAC,” Anderson said. “I would think that (our team’s success) was just reaffirmed to the guys. They’re a national-tournament worthy team. We just have to keep working hard.”

Next year, DWU will return four of its five varsity golfers, with only Hoek graduating. In addition to Abbotts, Gates and Evenson, freshman Chris Pritchard will also return as the Tigers will attempt to defend their conference title, and claim the region championship and trip to nationals that eluded them by a single stroke this season.

However, Anderson said replacing Hoek, the senior captain, would be a difficult task, and it might take more than one person to pick up where Hoek left off.

“It’s going to be impossible to try to fill the position that (Hoek) has, being the captain, having a good rapport with everyone, everyone respecting him,” Anderson said. “It’s going to be really difficult for us to fill, but I think Brett Abbotts will step up as our senior next year, and I think its going to be more of a team effort next year.”

Between the fall and spring seasons, DWU competed in 15 tournaments. The Tigers won six times, and finished second by a single stroke on three other occasions. And it’s those near misses that will have the GPAC coach of the year and his all-conference squad out on the course all summer long.

“If we would’ve had three more shots in those tournaments, we could’ve won nine out of 15, which is pretty much unheard of in college golf,” Anderson said. “We’ll have to hone the specific aspects of our game this summer and try to build upon what we did this year.”