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Darren Edwards 4.20
RMAC Communications
FLC junior Darren Edwards finished tied for 2nd at the RMAC Championships with a tournament score of +2 (218)

FLC men's golf finishes 2nd at RMAC Championships, four players place inside top-20

4/20/2021 9:23:00 PM

By: David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications
LITCHFIELD PARK, Arizona — A rebuilding project years in the making, the Fort Lewis College men's golf team came into the 2020-21 season looking for a return to the top of the leaderboard inside the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The team was able to accomplish just that this past week at the RMAC Championships, a 54-hole tournament hosted Sunday through Tuesday at Wigwam Golf Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Anchored by four players inside the top-20, the Skyhawks finished second overall (+26 (890)) out of nine teams; the best conference finish for a FLC team since the Skyhawks won the conference championship in 2010-11.

Fort Lewis was picked No. 8 in the RMAC Coaches Preseason Poll back in September and finished ninth at the 2018-19 RMAC Championships; the last time the Skyhawks competed at the event after the 2019-20 tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The men really wanted this bad. They wanted to compete for a RMAC Championship so, it goes without saying, they are ecstatic," said FLC head golf coach, Jim Foltz. "They took us to a different level this season."

Fort Lewis collectively shot a 291 during Tuesday's final round, which was tied for the lowest round of the day with third-place finisher Colorado Mesa University. No. 23 ranked Colorado State University Pueblo won the team championship with a tournament score of +10 (874).

"These guys are tough and are learning how to close. Although we didn't win, they closed the door on a lot of teams chasing us for second," Foltz said. "Our guys played extremely well. CSU Pueblo just played a little better this week."

Leading the way for the Skyhawks was junior Darren Edwards, who kept his hopes of being invited to the South Central Regional in two weeks alive with a tie for second place.

Edwards, the 96th ranked NCAA Division II golfer in the country according to GolfStat, carded rounds of 75-72-71 to finish at +2 (218) for the tournament. And if not for a chip-in birdie that lipped out late in Round Three, Edwards would have enjoyed second place to himself behind tournament champ Andrew Ni of CSU Pueblo.

"His chip on 18 lipped out, did a 360 around the hole and looked back at him. If he'd have made that, he would have had second place to himself," Foltz said. "Darren is an anomaly. He's extremely loyal to the program, he loves Fort Lewis and he practices hard. And when you practice as hard as he does, you bring other players with you because they see him out there putting in the time to get where he is."

Fellow junior Samuel Salisbury, who placed third at last week's Southern Colorado Masters, followed on the Skyhawks' scorecard in a tie for 12th with a tournament score of +7 (223), while sophomore left-hander Riley Rottschafer (+8 (224)) and true freshman Nicholas Krantz (+9 (225)) were close in a tie for 14th and a tie for 16th, respectively.

Krantz shined during his first postseason tournament as he was the Day One clubhouse leader at -3 (69). A rough second round of +9 (81) was a minor speed-bump as he responded with a +3 (75) to conclude the tournament.

"Nick had never led a tournament as big as the RMAC Championships and, under the circumstances, I thought he handled it fantastic as a freshman," Foltz said. "He didn't let the 81 faze him and came back strong today. The experience he gained from having that Day One lead was invaluable. I had a lot of coaches come up to me and ask, 'Who is this Nicholas guy?' because he is a freshman and no one really knows about him yet. He learned a lot this week that will make him a better golfer."

Rounding out the Skyhawks' scorecard was senior Blake Kuzava, who grinded out a 45th place finish with a tournament score of +32 (248).

While it wasn't the end to his FLC career he was hoping for, Foltz praised Kuzava for his contributions in helping the FLC men's golf program rebuilding effort.

"I've had Blake since he was a freshman and that goes a long way with me. Blake is one of those kids who is driven. He is driven to practice and to play hard. He probably had three of his toughest rounds of the season this week, but he gave FLC everything he had," Foltz said. "I'm proud he is one of our captains. We know how well he can perform and it was an extremely emotional time on the last green with him."

While the Skyhawks will miss Kuzava's leadership and steadiness in the lineup, the team is excited about the prospects of returning four players who competed this week, mixed in with a blend of young talent back in Durango heading into the 2021-22 season.

"It took us about three years to build this program to where I felt comfortable. And right now, I feel extremely comfortable with the kids we've recruited and the talent we have coming back. We have seven players coming back next year that can shoot under par," Foltz said. "We've shown we can play well and play with top teams in our conference and region. We just need to get off to better starts in tournaments and that's something we're going to be working on in the summer and next fall."
 
 
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