CHARLOTTE, NC- The Chowan University men's golf team captured the 2016 CIAA Championship crown on Friday afternoon.  The Hawks edged Livingstone College by six strokes with a two-day total team score of 634 to claim the program's first CIAA Championship title. 

Head Coach Mike Ordnung noted, "The team fought hard in very tough conditions on a difficult course.  After last year's runner-up finish, the team worked especially hard to prepare for this moment.  I would like to thank my assistant coach and mother, Ellen Ordnung, for putting together this great team and allowing me to guide them to a CIAA Championship." Assistant Coach Ordnung added, "Today was about learning how to win and understanding the value of every shot you make in tournament play.  This was a great team win because each player contributed to the victory either through yesterday's performance, or today's, and it all came down to the final putt."

Chowan shot a 315 in the opening round of play, and carded a 319 on Friday.  Livingstone College finished runner-up with a two-day round score of 640.  Fayetteville State University finished in third place (642) followed by Virginia Union University (669), Elizabeth City State University (689), and Virginia State University (765) in fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.  The Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith carded a two-day total of 814 for a seventh place finish.  Saint Augustine's University finished in eighth place with a two-round team score of 972. 

Phillip Harrison of Livingstone College carded a 73 in the opening round of play and followed with a 78 in the second round to secure individual low medalist honors (151). Jared Chinn of Fayetteville State and Dejuan Powell of Johnson C. Smith finished one-stroke behind (152) to finish tied for second place individually. 

Jordan Francis led the Hawks with a team-low second round score of 78.  He finished in fifth place individually in the 40-player field with a two-round score of 155.  Steven Rhinard shot a 78 on Thursday and carded an 82 for the Hawks on Friday.  He concluded play at the CIAA Championship tied for seventh with a two-round score of 160.  Rich Edwards finished one stroke behind Rhinard and in ninth place individually. After carding an 85 in the opening round, Edwards showed resilience in the final day of play, carding a 76 for Chowan. 

Billy Britton rounded out the scoring for Chowan.  He carded an 83 for the Hawks in the final round of play after shooting an 80 on Thursday.  Britton's two-day total of 163 was good for 11th place.  Christian Fleetwood and Ryan Baker finished in 15th and 20th place overall.  Fleetwood posted a two-day score of 166.  He carded an opening round score of 80 and followed with an 86 on Friday.  Baker shaved ten-strokes off his first round score (90) to card an 80 in the final round. 

The field for the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament will be announced via press release by the NCAA on Friday, April 22nd.  Release time is slated for 6pm.