Oct. 23, 2001

Bowling Green - Bowling Green captured the title at the inaugural John Piper Intercollegiate with a team score of 882, five strokes better than runner-up Wright State. The tournament was hosted by the Falcons, the first tournament held by the men's golf team since 1992 when the Mid-American Conference Championship was held at Forrest Creason Golf Course.

Wright State's John Schones won the tournament with a score of 213 (72, 68, 73).

"I'm really proud of the guys and how they handled things when you're hosting a tournament and you're leading after day one," said BGSU men's coach Garry Winger. "They went out today and closed it."

The Falcons led after two rounds on Monday with a score of 582 (287 and 295). With adverse weather conditions on Tuesday, most scores fell. However, Bowling Green shot the best round of any of the 11 teams with a score of 300 to seal its first tournament win of the fall season.

"It's a great thing to win the first ever John Piper Intercollegiate, which was named after one of the most successful BGSU golf coaches," Winger said about Piper, who coached the Falcons from 1970-82 with three MAC Championships. "We plan on making it a yearly event."

Senior Justin Gillham was the top Falcon finisher, placing in a tie for seventh place with a score of 220. Gillham saves his best for last by shooting a tournament-best 72 on Tuesday.

"I'm proud of him to put a great score in the books in difficult weather conditions," said Winger. "That's what we need out of him."

Tying Gillham for seventh place was teammate Andy Miller. Other Falcon finishers included freshman Austin Chase (10th, 221), Brian Gerken (T-13th, 222) and Adam Balls (T-28th, 227).

"It is great to end the fall season on a winning note," said Winger. "You've got anywhere from 11 to 22 teams every weekend you are competing against, so it is more difficult to register wins. It will make our players more willing to work hard over the winter to get ready for the spring season."

BGSU opens its 2002 spring season at the Big Red Classic at Lake Diamond Golf Club in Ocala, Fla. (March 9-10).

Final RESULTS	       1st	2nd	3rd	Total
1) Bowling Green	    287	295	300	882
2) Wright State	     295	289	303	887
3) Youngstown State	 294	291	305	890
4) Loyola-Chicago	   288	295	316	899
5) Butler	           295	302	304	901
6) Oakland	          296	298	308	902
7) Wis.-Green Bay	   301	298	305	904
8) Detroit-Mercy	    295	299	312	906
9) Cleveland State	  310	294	303	907
10) Dayton	          304	302	326	932
11) Marquette	       314	304	317	935