2007-08 Results

2007 FALL SEASON

Hope captured its fifth consecutive Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) men's golf championship.

With a come-from-behind effort, coach Bob Ebels' Flying Dutchmen finished 13 strokes ahead of Olivet over the course of the eight-tournament season. Hope did not move into first place until the seventh tournament of the year. The Flying Dutchmen won four of the year's tournaments outright, tied for first in another and were second in three others.

As league champions, Hope has earned a berth in the NCAA Division III championships. It will be Hope's third consecutive trip to nationals, the fifth since 2000 and the ninth in school history. The Flying Dutchmen finished 18th at last year's nationals.

Hope has won the MIAA championship 14 times with eight of them coming over the past nine years. Coach Ebels has guided Hope's golf fortunes since 1991.

This string of MIAA titles ties the conference record for consecutive championships won by a school. Olivet won five straight titles from 1978-82.

For the second time in his career, senior Tommy Yamaoka of Zeeland, Mich. (Zeeland East HS) captured MIAA medalist honors by averaging 73.5 strokes over the season's eight tournaments. Yamaoka was also the conference medalist as a freshman (2004). As a sophomore he was second in the seasonal standings and as a junior was fourth. Over 32 league tournaments in his career, he maintained a 73.3 strokes average.

Yamaoka and senior teammate Matt Lapham of Brighton, Mich. (Brighton HS) earned All-MIAA first team honors four consecutive years. They become part of an elite group of only seven MIAA golfers to achieve that distinction. The only other Hope golfer to be All-MIAA four times was Eric Wohlfield from 1998-2001.

Lapham tied for second place in the seasonal standings with a 73.6 strokes average. Lapham was the conference medalist as a junior (2006), was third as a sophomore and sixth as a freshman. Over 31 league tournaments in his career, he also maintained a 73.3 strokes average.

Senior Ryan Sheets of Saline, Mich. (Saline HS) received All-MIAA second team honors by finishing eighth in the seasonal standings with a 76.6 average. It marked the third year he has been All-MIAA having received second team honors as a junior (2006) and first team recognition as a sophomore.

Other players contributing to Hope's march to the MIAA championship included senior Steve Martindale of Midland, Mich. (H.H. Dow HS), junior Donald Kring of Williamsburg, Mich. (Traverse City St. Francis HS), and junior Donald Scholten of Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids Christian HS). Martindale played in all eight tournaments and place 13th in the seasonal standings with a 78.8 strokes average. Kring played in six tournaments, averaging 78 strokes while Scholten played in two with an average of 75 strokes.

Other members of this year's team included freshman Chris Ansel of Zeeland, Mich. (Zeeland East HS), sophomore Josh Jelenek of Laingsburg, Mich. (Laingsburg HS), junior Dan Oumedian of Jenison, Mich. (Jenison HS)and sophomore Steve Strock of Grandville, Mich. (Grandville HS).

Olivet College Classic
Bedford Valley, August 31-September 1
Hope finished third in a 17 team field. Hope Results: Matt Lapham 77-76—153, Ryan Sheets 76-77—153, Don Kring 78-76—154, Tommy Yamaoka 78-77—155, Steve Martindale 77-79—156. A second Hope team finished in 14th place. Scores: Don Scholten 83-79—162, Steve Strock 81-82—163, Dan Oumedian 83-81—164, Josh Jelenek 87-80—167, Chris Ansel 85-82—167.

MIAA Tournament
The Medalist, September 5
Hope finished second but only two strokes behind winner Olivet. Team Scores: Olivet 312, Hope 314, Albion 320, Alma 323, Tri-State 324, Calvin 326, Adrian 344 and Kalamazoo 351. Medalist: Shared by Tommy Yamaoka of Hope and Mason Husby of Albion at 73 strokes. Hope Results: Tommy Yamaoka 73, Don Kring 77, Matt Lapham 82, Ryan Sheets 82, Steve Martindale 84.

MIAA Tournament
Bedford Valley, September 11
League frontrunner Olivet won the season's second tournament, finishing eight strokes ahead of the Flying Dutchmen. Team Scores: Olivet 295, Hope 303, Alma 306, Tri-State 314, Albion 318, Calvin 324, Kalamazoo 331, and Adrian 332. Medalist: Brock Gleadal, Olivet, 71. Hope Results: Tommy Yamaoka 73, Ryan Sheets 74, Steve Martindale 76, Matt Lapham 80, Don Kring 81.

MIAA Tournament
Wuskowhan PC, September 17
Hope won the tournament on its own home course, finishing five strokes ahead of league leading Olivet. Team Scores: 1. Hope 292, 2. Olivet 297, 3. Albion 301, 4. Alma 302, 5. Tri-State 304, 6. Calvin 322, 7. Adrian 326, 7. Kalamazoo 328. Medalist: Matt McLaughlin, Albion, 70. Hope Results: Matt Lapham 71, Tommy Yamaoka 72, Ryan Sheets 74, Don Kring 75, Steve Martindale 77.

MIAA Tournament
The Prairies, September 20
Hope won the tournament to move within two strokes of league leading Olivet. Team Scores: 1. Hope 293, 2. Olivet 296, 3. Albion 304, 4. Adrian 313, 5. Calvin 315, 6. Alma 317, 6. Tri-State 317, 8. Kalamazoo 319. Medalist: Mark McLaughlin, Albion, 68. Hope Results: Matt Lapham 69, Don Kring 74, Tommy Yamaoka 75, Ryan Sheets 75, Steve Martindale 83.

Red Poling Classic
TPC of Michigan, September 25
Hope won the invitational for the second consecutive year. Team Scores: 1. Hope 299, 2. Malone 308, 3. Spring Arbor 320, 4. Calvin 332, 4. Monmoputh 332, 6. Augustana 339. Medalist: Don Scholten, Hope, 72. Hope Results: Don Scholten 72, Matt Lapham 74, Ryan Sheets 74, Tommy Yamaoka 79, Steve Martindale 84.

MIAA Tournament
Bucks Run GC, September 27
Olivet won the tournament while Hope was second. The Comets are three strokes ahead of Hope in the MIAA standings. Team Scores: 1. Olivet 299, 2. Hope 300, 3. Tri-State 304, 4. Albion 307, 5. Alma 308, 6. Calvin 318, 7. Kalamazoo 328, 8. Adrian 343. Medalist: Eric Ross, Olivet, 71. Hope Results: Tommy Yamaoka 74, Matt Lapham 75, Steve Martindale 75, Ryan Sheets 76, Don Kring 78.

MIAA Tournament
Lenawee CC, September 29
Hope was part of a three-way tie for first place with Olivet and Tri-State at 302 strokes. Olivet maintains its lead in the MIAA standings by three strokes over Hope. Medalist: Matt Lapham, Hope, 69. Hope Results: Matt Lapham 69, Steve Martindale 74, Tommy Yamaoka 78, Ryan Sheets 81, Don Kring 83.

MIAA Tournament
Watermark CC, October 1
Hope moved into first place in the standings for the first time this season by winning this tournament with an MIAA course record score. Team Scores: 1. Hope 301, 2. Olivet 309, 3. Tri-State 318, 4. Albion 321, 5. Adrian 323, 6. Calvin 324, 7. Kalamazoo 328, 8. Alma 334. Medalist: Matt Lapham, Hope, 73. Hope Results: Matt Lapham 73, Tommy Yamaoka 75, Don Scholten 75, Steve Martindale 78, Ryan Sheets 79.

MIAA Tournament
Zollner GC, October 6
Hope clinches its fifth straight MIAA championship by winning their fourth tournament of the season. Team Scores: 1. Hope 285, 2. Olivet 297, 3. Tri-State 305, 4. Albion 306, 5. Adrian 307, 5. Alma 307, 5. Kalamazoo 307, 5. Calvin 307. Medalist: Tommy Yamaoka, Hope, 68. Hope Scores: Tommy Yamaoka 68, Matt Lapham 70, Ryan Sheets 72, Don Scholten 75, Steve Martindale 83.

SPRING 2008 SEASON

Flying Dutchmen Finish 18th at Nationals
Hope finished 18th in the final standings of the NCAA Division III men's golf championships played in Braselton, Ga.

St. John's Minn. topped the 72-hole competition at 1,192 strokes. Hope was 52 strokes off the pace (312-322-313-297--1,244).

It marked the second consecutive year that coach Bob Ebels' Flying Dutchmen have finished 18th in the field of 35 teams.

Scores of Hope golfers thru the four rounds were senior Tommy Yamaoka (Zeeland/Zeeland East HS) 73 (72-81-79-73--305 strokes, 37th place), senior Matt Lapham (Brighton/Brighton HS) 71 (79-82-79-71--311, 57th place), junior Don Kring (Williamsburg/St. Francis HS) 75 (82-82-78-75--317, 87th place), senior Ryan Sheets (Saline/Saline HS) 78 (86-77-77-78-318, 91st place), and senior Steve Martindale 79 (79-86-85-79--329, 113th place). The tournament medalist was Scott Fisher of St. John Fisher, N.Y. at 68-71-71-75--285.

Flying Dutchmen 2nd at Ohio Tournament
The Flying Dutchmen finished second in the two-day, eight-team Malone Invitational this weekend. Hope senior Tommy Yamaoka tied the Tannenhaus course record with a Saturday round of 65. He finished second in the two-day totals with a 77-65--142. The tournament medalist was host Malone at 572 strokes while Hope followed at 591. The scores of other teams were Malone B 596, 4. Ohio Dominican 597, 5. Walsh 610, 6. Mt. Vernon 611, 7. Northwestern, Ohio 625, 8. Mount Union 634. The scores of other Hope golfers were Matt Lapham 74-76--150, Ryan Sheets 76-81--157, Steve Strock 73-75--148, and Josh Jelenek 78-75--153.

Flying Dutchmen 2nd at Spring Arbor Tourney
Hope teammates Tommy Yamaoka and Matt Lapham shared medalist honors as the Flying Dutchmen finished second in a tournament hosted by Spring Arbor on Monday. Host Spring Arbor topped the 11-team field over the 36-hole competition at Arbor Hills with 593 strokes while Hope ended at 598. Yamaoka and Lapham ended at 145 strokes. Yamaoka had rounds of 69 and 76 while Lapham totaled 74 and 71. Scores of other Hope golfers were Steven Strock 76-76--152, Chris Ansel 79-77--156 and Steve Martindale 79-84--163.

Flying Dutchmen Win Indiana Tournament
The Flying Dutchmen captured an abbreviated tournament hosted by Manchester College. Hope topped the nine-team field over 18 holes at 319 strokes followed by Transylvania, Ky. 323, Franklin 330, Anderson 333, Rose-Hulman 342, Hanover 347, Mount St. Joseph 357, Manchester 361, and Defiance 364. Hope senior Tommy Yamaoka was the medalist over the Chestnuts Hills course at 73 strokes. Scores of other Hope players were Don Kring 79, Matt Lapham 83, Josh Jelenek 84 and Donald Scholten 87.

Flying Dutchmen Third at Indiana Tournament
The Flying Dutchmen finished third in the 12-team Indiana Wesleyan tournament. Spring Arbor topped the standings at 618 points followed by host Indiana Weesleyan 619 and Hope 624. Tommy Yamaoka led Hope with a 36-hole total of 151 followed by Steven Strock 155, Donald Kring 158, Donald Scholten 163 and Ryan Sheets 163.