2014-15 Stories of the Year (No. 4) Men's Golf posts impressive turnaround

MEQUON, Wis. - The 2014-15 athletic year was another successful one for Concordia University Wisconsin. The Falcons had a multitude of wins, memorable moments and impressive performances en route to more championships and awards. The CUW Athletic Communications Department again tries to sort through all the great moments and give you, the fans, the top five stories from the year, as well as an honorable mention story.

The list of stories was compiled by both the Athletic Communications Department and a committee of coaches, and like all lists is subject to debate. The list of top stories will be revealed over the next six weeks with a story being released each Tuesday. The No. 1 story from the 2014-15 athletics season will be released July 21.

No. 4 Story of the Year

Flash back to the 2013-14 season and the Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Golf team was wrapping up its year with an eighth-place finish at the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Championships. It was the fourth straight year the Falcons had finished eighth or worse at the event.

This past season was different for CUW, however. The Falcons played impressive golf all season, really turning up their performance during the spring season and were poised to make a run at the NACC Championships, a three-round event scheduled for April 19-20 at Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora, Ill.

The Falcons did indeed turn heads at the NACC Championships, finishing tied for first after 54 holes of competition at 958 strokes with Wisconsin Lutheran College. CUW would ultimately fall in a one-hole playoff, but still had the best turnaround of all programs in the conference.

In addition, the Falcons had the lowest team round of the NACC Championships at 307, which they fired in the opening round, building a seven-shot advantage. The 307 was also the third lowest round in program history as CUW shot five of its six lowest rounds in program history during the 2015 spring season. The lowest of those was a 302 at the Lake Forest Spring Invitational, which was the lowest round in program history by four strokes.

The Falcons also had plenty of individual success at the NACC Championships this season in earning the Player of the Year in the conference, as well as the Freshman of the Year. Evan Rabas (Sherwood, Wis.) was the Player of the Year after winning medalist honors with a three-round score 230 (77-73-80). His teammate, freshman P.J. Clemins (Cedarburg, Wis.) was named NACC Freshman of the Year after posting a 235 (71-80-84).

Rabas and Clemins were both named to the All-NACC Team, becoming the first Falcons since the 2005 season to earn those honors. The last player to earn All-League honors was Jon Klemp in 2005, back when the Falcons competed in the Lake Michigan Conference.

The 2014-15 season was certainly a memorable one for CUW Men's Golf and one that seems to have the program on the right track for future seasons.