HOLLAND -- The MIAA champion Flying Dutchmen will begin play in the NCAA Division III golf championships on Tuesday, May 11.

The four-day, 72-hole tournament will be played on two courses in Hershey, Pa., the Hershey Links and the Hershey Country Club. As champions of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), the Flying Dutchmen have qualified as a team for the national tournament for the eighth time in school history.

The 36-team competition includes 190 golfers representing 27 Division III conferences, along with some independents and individuals. After two rounds the field will be trimmed to 23 teams plus five individual golfers with the best scores from the non-advancing teams.

Hope's national roster will include junior Chris Ansel of Zeeland (Zeeland East HS), sophomore Nicholas Campbell of Saline (Saline HS), freshman Charles Olson from Suttons Bay (Suttons Bay HS), sophomore Andy Thomson from Beaver Dam, Wisc. (Central Wisconsin Christian HS), and senior Steven Strock of Grandville (Grandville HS).

The team is coached by Bob Ebels who in 19 seasons has brought players as a team or individual qualifiers to eight NCAA tournaments.

The Flying Dutchmen last appeared at nationals in 2008. The team finished 18th in both 2007 and 2008 and were 17th in four other appearances (1987, 1988, 2000 and 2006).

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