Men's Golf

Nick Hessa, a senior from Sioux City, has been named a 2013 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete in the sport of men’s golf.

Hessa has a 3.67 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in business administration.

Hessa received the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete award for the third time in his Morningside career.

Student-athletes must be of at least junior academic status and have a minimum GPA of 3.50 in order to be eligible for Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.

Click here for the complete list of 2013 Daktronics-NAIA Men's Golf Scholar-Athletes.

Morningside College’s men’s golf team broke three school records during the 2012-13 season.

All three record breaking performances occurred at the same tournament when the Mustangs’ closed out the season with a first place finish at the Morningside Invitational on April 29 at Sioux City’s Green Valley Golf Course. The Mustangs carded their lowest score in school history with a 278 to break the former school record of a 283 that was set in 1980 at the Sioux Golf & Country Club in Alton, Iowa.

Matt Young, a junior from Kingsley, Iowa, led the Mustangs on their record-setting day with a medalist round of 62. Brandon Thompson, a sophomore from Totland, Isle of Wight, England, was next with a 71, followed by Matt Pitts, a junior from Cherokee, Iowa, with a 72 and Cole Schwarz, a junior from Silver Lake, Kan., with a 73.

Young’s 10-under par 62 was the lowest score in Morningside history. He broke the former Morningside single-round scoring record of 66 set by Mark Gambaiana in 1980 at the Morningside Country Club. Young’s 10-under round also broke the Mustangs’ individual scoring record in relation to par, breaking the former record of five-under par rounds by Thompson last season at Eagle Bend Golf Course in Lawrence, Kan., and by Skip Sorensen in 1980 at Sioux Golf & Country Club.

The Mustangs also tied a record for their best finish in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) standings. Morningside finished second in the combined scoring from this season’s four GPAC Qualifier tournaments to match a runner-up finish by the Mustangs’ 2009-10 team.

Thompson had the Mustangs’ top scoring average for the season with an average of 73.2 strokes per 18 holes. He led the Mustangs in both the fall and spring seasons with averages of 72.5 in the fall and 73.8 in the spring. Thompson had the Mustangs’ top individual score in the fall season with a two-under par 69 on Sept. 30 at the Grand View University Viking Classic.

Morningside had six other players finish the campaign with scoring averages in the 70s. Pitts had the Mustangs’ second lowest scoring average with a 74.8, followed by Pablo Lavin, a freshman from Aquascalientes, Mexico, with a 77.7; Young with a 77.9; Nathan Zimmerman, a junior from Treynor, Iowa, with a 78.7; Schwarz with a 79.2; and Seth McCauley, a senior from Lawrence, Kan., with a 79.2.

Morningside College’s Brandon Thompson, Matt Pitts, Nathan Zimmerman, and Matt Young were all named to the 2012-13 All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Men’s Golf Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

Thompson, a sophomore from Totland, Isle of Wight, England, led the Mustangs with a combined scoring average of 73.2 strokes per 18 holes over the fall and spring seasons. Thompson, last year’s GPAC Men’s Golfer of the Year, led the Mustangs with averages of 72.5 in the fall season and 73.8 in the spring season. He finished third in the individual standings from this year’s four GPAC Qualifier tournaments with a five-over par 290.

Pitts, a junior from Cherokee, Iowa, had averages of 75.0 in the fall and 74.7 in the spring for a combined average of 74.8 to rank second on the team. He finished fourth in the GPAC Qualifier tourneys with a 10-over par 295.

Zimmerman, a junior from Treynor, Iowa, averaged 76.6 in the fall and 81.4 in the spring for a combined average of 78.7. He finished ninth in the GPAC Qualifier scoring with a 21-over par 306. Zimmerman was one of four players that shared medalist honors at even par 72 at GPAC Qualifier #2 held Oct. 10 at Sioux City’s Green Valley Golf Course.

Young, a junior from Kingsley, Iowa, had averages of 78.7 in the fall and 77.1 in the spring for a combined average of 77.9. He finished 16th in the GPAC Qualifier scoring with a 26-over par 311. Young was the medalist at this spring’s Morningside Invitational on April 29 at Green Valley Golf Course when he fired a 10-under par 62 for the lowest score in Morningside history.

Morningside was the runner-up behind league champion Northwestern College in the final 2012-13 GPAC Qualifier scoring with a four-tournament total of 1,195 for a four-stroke margin over third place Nebraska Wesleyan University. Morningside’s second place finish matched a runner-up finish by the Mustangs’ 2009-10 team for its best-ever finish in the final GPAC standings.

Click here for the complete 2012-13 All-GPAC Men's Golf Team.

Morningside College’s men’s golf team carded the lowest team score in school history to win the Morningside Invitational held April 29 at Green Valley Golf Course.

The Mustangs finished with a team score of 278 to finish 10-under par for a 14-stroke margin over runner-up Midland University. The 278 broke Morningside’s former record score of a five-under par 283 that was set in 1980 at the Sioux Golf & Country Club in Alton, Iowa.

Matt Young, a junior from Kingsley, Iowa, led the Mustangs’ record breaking charge with a 10-under par 62 for the lowest individual score in Morningside history. He played the first five holes in a six-under par when he went birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, and birdie to start the round. His final scorecard included 10 birdies and one eagle. Young’s 62 broke the former school record of 66 set by Mark Gambaiana in 1980 at the Morningside Country Club.

The Mustangs completed their team score with a one-under par 71 from Brandon Thompson, a sophomore from Totland, Isle of Wight, England; an even par 72 from Matt Pitts, a junior from Cherokee, Iowa; and a one-over par 73 from Cole Schwarz, a junior from Silver Lake, Kan.

Morningside finished fourth at GPAC Men’s Golf Qualifier #4 held April 25 in Sioux Center, Iowa.

The Mustangs finished with a team score of 304 to leave them just five strokes out of second place. Northwestern won the team tourney with a 290, followed by a tight finish for the next four spots. Nebraska Wesleyan finished second with a 299, followed by Doane in third with a 303 and Morningside and Midland tied for fourth at 304.

Brandon Thompson was the Mustangs’ top individual finisher with a one-over par 72 for the fifth best score of the day. Matt Pitts was next with a 74, while Cole Schwarz and Matt Young each had 79s.

Morningside finished as the 2012-13 GPAC runner-up behind Northwestern in the final GPAC standings. Northwestern carded a combined score of 1155 in the four GPAC Qualifiers, while Morningside edged Nebraska Wesleyan 1195 to 1199 for second place.

Thompson, last year’s GPAC Player of the Year, was the Mustangs’ top individual finisher with a five-over par 290 for third place in the final GPAC individual standings. Pitts finished in a tie for fourth with a 295 and Nathan Zimmerman was ninth with a 306.

GPAC Qualifier #4 Results

Combined GPAC Qualifier Standings

Brandon Thompson, a sophomore from Totland, Isle of Wight, England, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Men’s Golfer of the Week for April 1-7.

Thompson carded rounds of 77 and 74 for a total of 151 to finish tied for fifth in a field of 49 golfers at the Southeast Community College Spring Invitational held in Beatrice, Neb.

Thompson also received the GPAC Golfer of the Week honor during the fall season.

Morningside will compete in the Northwestern College Invitational on April 16 in Orange City, Iowa.

Nathan Zimmerman, a junior from Treynor, Iowa, is one of four athletes to receive the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Men’s Golfer of the Week award for their performances at GPAC Qualifier #2 held Oct. 10 at Sioux City’s Green Valley Golf Course.

Zimmerman and the three other GPAC award winners – Rory Doll of Nebraska Wesleyan Universeity, Kyle Stanek of Northwestern College, and Michael Dykema of Northwestern shared medalist honors with even par rounds of 72.

The GPAC Qualifier #2 tournament was the Mustangs’ final competition of the fall season.

Brandon Thompson, a sophomore from Totland, Isle of Wight, England, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Men’s Golfer of the Week for Oct. 1-7.

Thompson finished third in the individual standings at the two-day Grand View University Viking Classic held last week. Thompson carded a 69 in the opening round and came back with a 70 the next day to finish at 139.