Wheeling, W. Va. - Through the first month of the spring season, the Wheeling University Men's Golf team has been sitting in the top 13 of the Clippd Atlantic Regional Rankings. On Friday, the first official NCAA Men's Golf Rankings came out for the Atlantic Region, and the Cardinals cemented their spot in that top 13. They ranked #12 in the first release of the regional rankings, equaling their mark on the Clippd scoreboard over the last few weeks.

The Cardinals are coming off an appearance at the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Spring Classic, where they finished 5^th in the team standings. They would put together a two-day score of 581, and shot a sub-300 score in each round of competition. They would start the event shooting a 293 through the first 18 holes, with one golfer shooting par on the day. As they headed into the second day, Wheeling's team would come together and drop five strokes off their score, shooting a 288. It was enough to jump them into the top five in the tournament field as they took fifth overall with a 581 over the two rounds. It was Wheeling's lowest team score of the spring so far and they look to carry that momentum with them through the rest of the regional run.

Along with their team success at the MEC Spring Classic, the Cardinals also saw their share of individual success, with three players being honored on the annual All-MEC teams. Leading the way was sophomore Zak Collins, who earned First Team All-MEC honors after finishing fourth overall in the fall and adding a 10^th place finish in the spring. He would shoot a 144 across the two rounds of competition, and was the first Cardinal since the 2022 season to earn First team All-MEC honors. The other two All-MEC honorees were graduate student Sean Dobson and graduate student Troy Loughry, who earned Second Team All-MEC and Honorable Mention respectively. Dobson was Wheeling's top finisher in the event, finishing tied for 7^th with a 142 across the two days of competition. Loughry would finish just outside the top 20, dropping two strokes from his day one score to shoot a 72 that earned him a tie for 21^st in the field.

The Cardinals were one of five MEC teams ranked in the top 14 of the event, with the Cardinals joining Charleston (7^th), Glenville State (9^th), Fairmont State (10^th), and West Liberty (14^th). Gannon leads the first team rankings of the season, followed by Pitt-Johnstown in second and West Chester in third to round out the top three. The top 13 programs will qualify for the 2026 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championship, and the Cardinals are looking to qualify as a team for the first time in program history.

The Wheeling University Men's Golf team returns to action on Tuesday, April 14^th, when they compete at the IUP Invitational.