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BRASELTON, Ga. – Sophomore Fredrik Nilehn tapped in a short putt on the 18th green Tuesday as the Kennesaw State men's golf team went wire-to-wire to win the 2016 Atlantic Sun Conference championship and secure the program's second title.
 
Nilehn's final-round 72 and a 2-under 70 from junior Chris Guglielmo helped the Owls to a 54-hole total of even-par 864 and a seven-shot victory over second-place Jacksonville (871, +7) at the par 72, 7,032-yard Legends Course at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga.
 
"I know the last couple years we've come in second place so it has been kind of hard finishes. Teremoana (Beaucousin) and Fred have been a part of it so they know what it took to win this year," Guglielmo said. "We made a lot of big steps from last semester to this semester. We were pretty confident going in to it and I think we did a pretty good job handling everything. We had some adversity out there but we did a pretty good job."
 
Nilehn finished third in the individual standings with an even-par 216 total to earn all-tournament honors along with Guglielmo, who tied for fourth at 1-over par 217. Jacksonville's David Wicks claimed individual medalist honors with a 4-under par score of 212 to finish one shot ahead of Florida Gulf Coast's Austin Schultz (213, -3).
 
"It was an incredible day, incredible week," first-year head coach Bryant Odom said. "The guys came in here focused. Like Chris said, we had some adversity during the day and during the week. They just never gave up. Our thought was let's just play golf, stick to our game plan and add it up at the end of the day, the end of the tournament. We were confident that if we stuck to everything, we'd be here winners right now."
 
Early in the final round, both Nilehn and freshman Jake Fendt responded with big birdie putts on the third and fifth holes, respectively. On the third hole, North Florida's Andrew Alligood sank a 45-foot putt for a birdie that Nilehn answered with lengthy birdie putt of his own.
 
Later on at the fifth, Dylan Woods of North Florida chipped in for birdie, and Fendt followed with a birdie putt that kept the Owls out in front and the momentum on their side.  
 
"It was a roller-coaster round. I didn't think we had that great a start," Odom said. "You just have to stay patient on this course. The first few holes are pretty difficult and everybody got it going in the middle and started to get a sense that we were settling in to the round and were more relaxed.
 
"I didn't watch the leaderboard too much today. I was just trying to be positive and confident and just let the guys know that every shot was important and not let them see any change in me one way or the other," Odom added. "I checked it (leaderboard) at the turn and then into the back nine and things were going our way and stayed on the guys to just finish and keep making good decisions."
 
Fendt, competing in his first A-Sun Championship, tied for eighth with a 3-over par 219 total, while junior Teremoana Beaucousin and sophomore Wyatt Larkin, tied for 12th, with 4-over par scores of 220.
 
The conference championship, Kennesaw State's second since 2011, secures the conference's automatic berth and sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament that will begin with six regionals scheduled for May 16-18. The entire 81-team field will be announced May 5 live on Golf Channel's Morning Drive at 9:30 a.m. (ET).
 
The six NCAA regional sites will be held in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Ol' Colony Golf Complex; University of Alabama), Tucson, Ariz. (Gallery Golf Club; University of Arizona), Kohler, Wis. (Blackwolf Run Meadow Valley Course; University of Wisconsin); Albuquerque, N.M. (Championship Course at UNM; University of New Mexico), Stillwater, Okla. (Karsten Golf Club; Oklahoma State University); Nashville, Tenn. (Vanderbilt Legends Club; Vanderbilt University). The national championships are slated for May 27 through June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.
 
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