Ohio Valley Conference Champs! Little Rock Claims the Conference Title in Their First Year in the OVC

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Little Rock has established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Ohio Valley Conference after winning the conference championship and earning the conference's automatic bid to NCAA Regionals in their first season with the conference. The Trojans bested SIUE 4-1-0 in the match play finals Wednesday at Dalhousie Golf Club, securing the programs first conference title as members of the OVC and second straight conference title after winning the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Championship last year before joining the OVC.

Little Rock started match play as the top seed after finishing first in the 54-hole stroke play Sunday through Tuesday. They faced the four seed, Lindenwood, in the match play semifinals while two seed SIUE faced three seed Southern Indiana.

Ryan McNelis had his time to shine as he stepped into the lineup for the match play semifinals and delivered in a big way with a 3&2 victory on hole 16. McNelis had a powerful start to the match, 5-up for holes 8-12 before dropping holes 13 and 14 but managed tto hold on and win the match. Archie Smith and Nico Horder both had their decisions made on hole 14, Archie's being a 6&4 win while Horder's was a 5&4.

Jansen Smith's 3&1 victory was the go ahead win that locked the Trojans in for the match play championship, while Magnus Lomholt finished the semifinals tied, heading to play a 20^th hole before the semifinals were concluded following Jansen's victory.

The afternoon round saw a change in the Little Rock lineup with Anton Albers taking over for McNelis. Although the final round presented tough competition exacerbated by a long, 36-hole day, the Trojans still managed to edge out SIUE in a 4-1-0 victory to claim the conference title.

Jansen was the first Trojan to notch a victory, taking a 6&5 decision on hole 13 after winning 4 straight holes. Lomholt, who was tied at the turn, dropped 5 straight holes and was handed a 5&4 defeat, Little Rock's only loss in match play. Archie was the second Trojan to emerge victorious, securing his 5&4 win on hole 14. Archie had a slow start in the finals, remaining tied in his match until the 5^th hole before big wins on holes 7, 9, and 10 propelled him to a large lead and win.

Horder and Albers were then left to battle for the final match win needed to give the Trojans a second-straight conference title. As Horder began on hole 17, he was 1-up and needed to win the hole to end the match and avoid playing hole 18. Simultaneously, Albers was beginning on hole 16 and was 3-up; a win or tie on the hole would secure him the match win. Horder tied on hole 17, but before he could move on to 18, Albers tied on 16, securing him the third and final match win needed to make the Trojans the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Champions.

Little Rock will now prepare for the postseason as they are assured a berth in the NCAA Regionals for the third-straight year, earning the automatic berth. The OVC's highest-ranked team will learn its regional destination on Wednesday, May 3, during the NCAA Golf Selection show airing at noon CT on the Golf Channel. The NCAA Regionals will be held May 15-17 in Auburn, Alabama; Salem, South Carolina; East Lansing, Michigan; Las Vegas, Nevada; Norman, Oklahoma and Morgan Hill, California. Following the Regionals the National Championship will be held May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

2023 Ohio Valley Conference Match Play Results
Semifinal #1: No. 1 Little Rock 4.5, #4 Lindenwood 0.5
Archie Smith (LR) def. Liam Bentein (LIN), 6&4
Magnus Lomholt (LR)     Tyler May (LIN), Even (through 19 holes)
Nicolas Horder (LR) def. Renato Filho (LIN), 5&4
Jansen Smith (LR) def. Matthew Frith (LIN), 3&1
Ryan McNelis (LR) def. John Gardner (LIN), 3&2

Semifinal #2: No. 2 SIUE 4, #3 Southern Indiana 1
Brady Kaufmann (SIUE) def. Carter Goebel (USI), 4&2
Luke Ludwig (SIUE) def. Bryce Kirchner (USI), 5&3
TJ Baker (SIUE) def. Trevor Laub (USI), 2&1
Jason Bannister (USI) def. Alex Eickhoff (SIUE), 1UP
Anthony Ruthey (SIUE) def. Zach Williams (USI), 1UP

Final: #1 Little Rock 4, No. 2 SIUE 1
Jansen Smith (LR) def. Brady Kaufmann (SIUE), 6&5
TJ Baker (SIUE) def. Magnus Lomholt (LR), 5&4
Nico Horder (LR) def. Luke Ludwig (SIUE), 1UP
Anton Albers (LR) def. Presley Mackelburg (SIUE), 3&2
Archie Smith (LR) def. Anthony Ruthey (SIUE), 5&4

OVC All-Tournament Team
Anton Albers, Little Rock (MVP)
Jason Bannister, Southern Indiana
Nicolas Horder, Little Rock
Jansen Smith, Little Rock
Matthew Frith, Lindenwood

OVC Player of the Year: Jansen Smith, Little Rock
OVC Freshman of the Year: Brady Kaufmann, SIUE
OVC Coach of the Year: Jake Harrington, Little Rock
Team Champion: Little Rock

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