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RIPON, Wis. – Monmouth College looks to win its third championship in the past three years starting on Thursday at the Midwest Conference Men’s Golf Championship. The Fighting Scots look to be the first team to complete the three-peat since Knox won the event eight straight times from 1994-2001. After finishing runner-up in 2010 Carroll will push for their first championship in school history, while Knox (3rd in 2010) has 29 championships, the most in the MWC. Rodney Clayton (Monmouth) will defend his individual title after shooting a three-round total of 228, highlighted by a tournament-low 73 on the third round of action in 2010. The championship will be held at the Aldeen Golf Club blue tee course – an 18-hole, par 72 layout that measures 6,471 yards. The winner will be crowned the 2011 MWC Champion and will compete as the league representative at the NCAA National Championship located in Greensboro, North Carolina May 10-13, 2011.

After finishing ninth in the 2010 championship Beloit Head Coach Brian Vraney looks for the teams first championship since 1962. Joseph Poshepny has played in a team-high seven rounds and holds an 80.1 average while teammate Patrick Kenny has shot an 86.6 average in five events. Tyler Isham owns a 90.4 scoring average and has a low round of 83 at the Ripon Spring Invitational. The Bucs shot a two-round season low of 684, finishing 13th at the Ripon Spring Invitational in the spring and average 355.5 shots in eight rounds played.

Carroll Head Coach Dave Andrews looks to overthrow defending champion Monmouth after a second place finish in 2010. Andrews boasts two of the best golfers in the conference, Eric Busalacchi and Same Luedtke, who each own top-three scoring averages among golfers with at least four rounds played. Busalacchi is shooting and average 75.3 shots per round, best in the MWC, and captured a top-five finish at the Ripon College Spring Invitational when he shot 71 in back-to-back rounds. Luedtke holds a 76.3 average in 14 rounds and has placed in the top-five in four of his eight events this season, highlighted by a win at the Carroll Pioneer Invitational. As a team, Carroll holds a single round score of 293 (2nd best in MWC) in the first round of the Ripon College Spring Invitational where they finished fourth of 16 teams.

In his sixth year as head coach at Grinnell Brian Jaworski aims to improve the Pioneers from a fifth place finish last season and returns Peter Marsho who was a top-15 finisher at the 2010 championship. Marsho holds the low average for the Pioneers shooting an average 78.1 shots (seventh in MWC) in five events which includes two top-five finishes. Alex McDonald returns after finishing 34th at last year’s championship holding an 83.4 shot average in 9.5 rounds. Grinnell is averaging 331.4 shots per round as a team and shot a season-best round of 316 twice this season.

Despite fielding a team with no seniors and only one junior Illinois C. Head Coach Ray DeFrisco will look to climb up the standings after a fourth place finish at the 2010 championship. Dustin Shea returns and leads the Blueboys with an 81.7 shot average in five events and also holds the team-low score of 76 in the second round of the Scot-Fire Classic. Josh Nation averages fewer than 85 strokes per round (84.9) and has a low round score of 80 at the Big Blue Spring Classic. In seven rounds this season the Blue Boys are averaging 344 shots and have a team-low round of 331.

Knox improved one spot at the 2010 championship for a third place finish and aim for their league-leading 30th championship under third year head coach Rob Purlee. Bobby Stuebi holds the fifth lowest scoring average (77.7) in the conference a year after finishing seventh at the championship. James Fenner will also be in contention for the individual championship as he holds a 79.3 stroke average in 10 rounds with a team-low score of 73 at the second round of the Augustana Invitational. The Prairie Fire shot a team-best round of 303 at the Scot-Fire Classic and are fifth in the conference averaging 332.6 strokes per round in 10 rounds played.

Lawrence Head Coach Kalle Larsson heads to Rockford with one of the best golfers in the conference and with expectations of improving from an eighth-place finish last season. John Pechan enters with the second-lowest average in the conference (75.4) as well as holding the low round by five strokes. Pechan has three top-five finishes, including two tournament wins. He fired an 8-under 64 at the Wisconsin Lutheran Invitational to finish with a 36-hole total of 3-under par. Jon Mays returns, averaging 84 strokes per round and also has a top-five finish at the Ripon College Invitational. Lawrence is averaging 335.6 shots in eight rounds this season, good for sixth in the MWC.

Monmouth hopes to earn their sixth conference title under coach Dave Ragone. The Scots won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010 and could three-peat this season, but they’ll need to do so with a rookie squad. Ben Olson anchors the Scots averaging 77.4 shots with three top-five finishes and a tournament win. Rodney Clayton will defend his 2010 individual championship after picking up an individual win at the Vike-Fire-Scot Triangular and holding an 80.6 average. Monmouth holds four of the top-ten low team rounds this season, posting a school-record 288 at last weekend’s Scot-Vike Invite, they also hold a 314.1 team average through 16 rounds.

Ripon Head Coach Cody Pinkston leads the Red Hawks to Aldeen after back-to-back sixth place finishes the last two seasons and will look for the school’s second championship. Garrett Weisenbeck enters shooting a team-low 83 shots per round in two events, also holding the individual low score of 80. Travis Bitter (85.6 shots per round) and Michael Kocher (87.4) also led the Red Hawks and both have low rounds of 81 this season. Ripon enters averaging 349.1 shots per round and had a low total of 325 in the second round of the Ripon College Spring Invitational where they took 11th place of 16 teams.

The Green Knights are in search of their first men’s golf championship in team history under first year head coach Tripp Maher. St. Norbert boasts a pair of golfers who average under 80 shots a round led by Brandon Gries. Gries averages a team-low 77.8 shots per round and also had an individual championship at the Lawrence Fall Classic. Joe Hansen (82.7 shots per round) and Jacob Hebbard (79.5) will compliment Gries in Rockford with Hebbard adding two top-five finish in seven events. As a team St. Norbert has averaged just over 321 shots per round, good for third in the MWC, and has won two tournaments this year including the Ripon College Invitational and the Lawrence Fall Classic.