For the second year in a row, The Master’s University men’s golf team has won the Golden State Athletic Conference Championship after carding an 8-under 280 in the final round at the par 72 Briarwood Country Club in Sun City West, Ariz. to finish at 10-under 854 (282, 292, 280).

The team won the 54-hole tournament by one stroke over OUAZ. The Mustangs trailed the Spirit by five strokes going into Wednesday’s final round.

With the conference win, TMU has automatically qualified it’s men’s team for the NAIA National Championship Tournament to be held at Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz, May 16-19.

“First off, I’m grateful to the Lord and Him blessing the hard work that they’ve put in,” said TMU head coach Jacob Hicks. “This has been a goal of ours since the beginning of the year and something we’ve looked forward to. This season has been up and down. We’ve faced some adversity, some injury, not performing how we would have liked at bigger tournaments. So to see the guys have their backs against the wall and knowing what they needed to do to clinch their berth to the national championship, was really special. (In that final round) we played the round of the day (as a team), tied the round of the tournament, and in my mind, we played the best round of the year. I’m just thrilled for the guys, and God’s grace allowing us to experience that as a team was a lot of fun.”

For the third year in a row, TMU’s Jack Dudeck claimed the individual championship. Dudeck finished at 13-under 203 (67, 70, 66), winning by three strokes over Arizona Christian’s Leon Acikalin. Mustangs’ freshman phenom Easton Johnson, who had the first round lead after shooting a blistering 8-under 64, finished in third at 9-under 207 (64, 72, 71).

“You can point to a certain skill, but it was just his heart, his mindset,” Hicks said. “He’s got that killer instinct that says, ‘Okay, I’m going to get the job done.’ That was his mantra out there. ‘I’m in position, I’m going to seal the deal, and I’m going to do it in style.’ He putted well, but he was just locked in from the opening tee shot.”

Mitchell Briley finished T10 (220) after a final round 2-under 70 moved him up seven spots in the standings. Seth Bishop finished 16th at 225.

Dudeck and Johnson were both named to the All-GSAC Men’s Golf team at the conclusion of the tournament. TMU Head Coach Jacob Hicks was tabbed as the GSAC Coach of the Year.

The women’s team finished in sixth out of the eight teams with a score of 989. It is the best score the team has achieved in the GSAC championships in its three years of existence. Hannah Ulibarri finished sixth with a 10-over 226. The freshman, who was named to the All-GSAC team and was the GSAC Women’s Golfer of the Month on April 6, struggled in her first and third rounds but was the only player under par in round two (78, 71, 77).

For the second year in a row, The Master’s University men’s golf team has won the Golden State Athletic Conference Championship after carding an 8-under 280 in the final round at the par 72 Briarwood Country Club in Sun City West, Ariz. to finish at 10-under 854 (282, 292, 280).Bella Huff finished 22nd, Nicole Southard T29th, Peyton Grider 32nd and Ellie Daugherty 37th.

“We are looking forward to next year because we know that over the summer, if the girls put in some good, quality work, we can be more competitive next year,” Hicks said about the women’s team. “We are returning everyone.”