HERSHEY, Pa. – The Centennial Conference Men's Golf Championship Trophy is coming back to the Lancaster for the sixth time in seven championships as the Diplomats posted a one-stroke victory over Gettysburg on Sunday afternoon. F&M posted a team score of 310 on Sunday, the lowest team round of the tournament, to finish with a two-day total of 624 (+56).
That single stroke margin of victory ties the second-closest finish in CC championship history. In 2000, McDaniel defeated Ursinus by a single stroke. In 1997, Muhlenberg and Ursinus tied with scores of 963, the only time there was a tie at the top of the team leaderboard.
The Centennial Conference title is the 11th in F&M's program history, which is the most of any team in conference history. Head coach Andy Tompos '69 has led his team to the Centennial Conference Championship in nine of his 12 seasons that the championship has been held.
Jas Fuhrer finished as the conference's runner-up, just four strokes off the pace of medalist Quinn Greene of Gettysburg. Fuhrer carded a 77 on Sunday and finished at 10-over. Fuhrer knocked in two huge birdies on the par-4 12th and 15th holes to help the Diplomats overtake the Bullets. He tied for the tournament lead in par-4 scoring (+4) and total birdies (6) throughout the tournament.
Jared Berlin posted the low round amongst all golfers on Sunday with a three-over 74 (+3). That round helped him finish fourth in the individual standings, a nine spot improvement from where the 2019 CC Rookie of the Year entered play on Sunday. Berlin tied for the tournament lead with 21 pars and was tied for fourth in both par-3 (+5) and par-4 (+7) scoring.
Dominic Sculti finished tied for sixth in the field (+10) after shooting 80 on Sunday as the Diplomats' fourth scorer. Michael Gallagher was the team's third-best score as he cut three strokes off his first round score to post a 79 and finish at +19 for the tournament. That placed him one spot ahead of Jordan Hubal who turned in a round of 84 on Sunday. Gallagher was one off the tournament's best with 20 pars over his two rounds while Hubal's four birdies at the championship were tied for third in the field.
Franklin & Marshall finished the tournament with the best team score on par-3s (+26) and par-4s (+51), while their three-over team score on par-5s was just one off Gettsyburg's pace.
After capturing the Centennial Conference Championship, the Diplomats earn the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championships. The full field for the national championship will be announced on Monday, May 3. The 2021 NCAA Championship will be a four-round tournament beginning on Tuesday, May 11 and continuing through Friday, May 14. The event will be held at the Oglebay Golf Course in Wheeling, West Virginia.
The All-Centennial Conference Team will be based on the entire season's body of work. Those award winners will be announced the week of May 3.
