Here is the Ferris State University disc golf team at the College Disc Golf National
Championship, which was held in Marion, North Carolina, April 5-8. (Photo courtesy
Conrad Meyer Photography)
Ferris State University disc golf competitors earned two All-American-qualifying performances and a top-10 finish at the College Disc Golf National Championship in Marion, North Carolina, April 5-8.
College of Pharmacy student Rachel Dupre, of Gladwin, continued her success in major events. Dupre finished eighth with a 12-over, 107 total. Freshman Benji Zorn, a Plastics Engineering Technology student from Grand Rapids, made effective adjustments to post a two-round total of 105, two under par. Also, Evan McConnell of Hudsonville tied for 10th with a one-under-par score of 94 for two rounds as a Ferris “C” team member.
Emeriti Leonard Johnson is the disc golf club team advisor, a registered Ferris student organization. He said Ferris’ teams stuck together and competed well throughout the championship, with the All-Americans providing leadership.
“Rachel has been named an All-American twice in her three-year career. We are proud of her commitment to the program and her consistency as an elite competitor,” Johnson said. “Benji is a rising star, and this year’s championship should serve as a measuring stick for goal setting in years to come.”
Ferris State University disc golf captain Benji Zorn of Grand Rapids begins a round
at the College Disc Golf National Championship, which was held in Marion, North Carolina,
April 5-8. Zorn joined Rachel Dupre, a Pharmacy student from Gladwin, as the Bulldogs’
All-American honorees based on their results in singles play. (Photo courtesy Conrad
Meyer Photography)
Zorn, captain of the disc golf team, expressed pride in his rallying efforts from difficulty in variable conditions.
“One bad hole in the second round was very costly,” Zorn said. “I was having trouble with my grip on a cold, wet and windy day, but we all learned to persevere and adjust to the conditions.”
Hopes of matching previous successes in team play eluded Ferris’ competitors as first-year students to participants in graduate school battled against leading foes from across the U.S.
“We have a higher standard for ourselves than the results we managed,” Zorn said. “We fought through difficulty, as all teams did in the second round of the championship, and are proud of our final round results in the tournament.”
The top finishes for Ferris found the women’s team seventh nationally, with a 19-over-par finish and an event total of 247. In Men’s D-III, the Ferris “C” team was eighth overall at 13 under par with a 212 score for the tournament. Ferris finished 32nd out of 63 teams in the Mixed Amateur 1, or “D-I” event, finishing with a 240 total, or six under for four rounds of play. The Ferris “D-II” team was 31st of 57 teams competing, finishing six strokes over par with a team total of 247.
Johnson said there is an opportunity for Ferris’ disc golfers to put an exclamation
point on their year’s efforts.
“We have high hopes for our final competition of the year, at the Maple Hill Invitational
in Leicester, Massachusetts, April 29-30,” Johnson said. “The College Disc Golf national
champions, the University of Cincinnati, will be there, and the chance to face them
again will be a real honor and test for our program.”