Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the Great Lakes Valley Conference is celebrating its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level. Our next featured team is the 2009 Indianapolis men’s golf squad.
40 TEAMS | 40 YEARS
WEEK 34: 2009 Indianapolis Men’s Golf
SEASON SUMMARY
The 2008-09 Indianapolis men’s golf program registered six tournament victories in the regular season that primed the Greyhounds for what would then be the best finish recorded by a GLVC squad at the NCAA Championships. After sharing eighth place at the 2008 NCAA Championships, UIndy grabbed a share of sixth place in 2009 with a four-round team score of 59-over 1,195. The Hounds were led at nationals by GLVC Freshman of the Year Aaron Monson (75-73-72-72), who shot even par over the final two rounds to move into a tie for fifth in the 108-golfer field. Monson’s fifth-place tie is the second-best finish by a GLVC golfer at the NCAA Championships. At the GLVC Championships, all five Greyhounds shot even par or better in the third and final round to lift UIndy to its second straight and record 14th league title, as the team’s record-breaking 54-hole score of 864 topped the 12-team field by 20 strokes. Brent Nicoson was voted by his peers to his second straight GLVC Coach of the Year honor. In the event held at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind., three Hounds finished in the top five, led by individual medalist Justin Hueber. The two-time GLVC Player of the Year racked-up an impressive six individual titles on the year and placed second at the 108-man Midwest/South Central NCAA Super Regional. Hueber, who boasted 14 sub-70 rounds during the season, broke his own record with a new single-season mark of 71.1 strokes-per-round while lower his career average to a program-best 72.6. In addition to his All-GLVC nod, Hueber was named to the Division II PING All-Midwest Region Team and the Division II PING All-American First Team, while Monson was tabbed as an All-American honorable mention.
IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS
Justin Hueber
- GCAA All-America First Team (2009)
- GCAA All-America Second Team (2008)
- GCAA All-America Honorable Mention (2006)
- GCAA All-America Scholar (2009)
- Two-time GLVC Player of the Year (2008-09)
- Two-time GLVC Champion (2008-09)
- Three-time All-GLVC (2006-08-09)
- GLVC Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2009)
- GLVC Hall of Fame Class of 2019
Aaron Monson
- GLVC Player of the Year (2012)
- GLVC Freshman of the Year (2009)
- Four-time All-GLVC (2009-10-11-12)
Seth Fair
- GLVC Player of the Year (2010)
- Three-time All-GLVC (2008-09-10)
- Finished tied for third at 2009 GLVC Championships
- Three top-30 results at NCAA Championships, including GLVC-record 4th in 2010
Blair Webb
- Two-time All-GLVC (2008-09)
- Finished fifth at 2009 GLVC Championships
Kyle Pearson
Brent Nicoson
- Four-time GLVC Coach of the Year (2008-09-13-14)
LASTING LEGACY
The 2009 UIndy men’s golf team recorded its league-best 14th GLVC Championship with a record-breaking 54-hole score of 864 – 20 strokes clear of the runner-up. Though they came just short of breaking their own league record for largest margin of victory – 23 strokes set at the 2008 GLVC Championships – the Greyhounds did set a couple of GLVC tourney benchmarks. The team’s 54-hole score of 864 marked the lowest winning score since the league went to the three-round format, besting the old mark of 869 set by the 1997-98 Greyhounds. UIndy would go on to place tied for sixth at the NCAA Championships, which was the league record until the University of Missouri-St. Louis placed fifth at the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Championships. In addition, UIndy tied for fifth at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Justin Hueber is one of four Hounds to have twice earned GLVC Player of the Year honors, joining Steve Krieger (1987, 1988), Rusty Ripberger (1997, 1998), and Graham McAree (2016, 2018), while five others Hounds have earned the league’s top honor, including Aaron Monson in 2012, following his GLVC Freshman of the Year accolade in 2009. UIndy would go on to score back-to-back GLVC Championships in 2013 and 2014 and recently extended its league record to 16 titles in 2018.