ONU's Mariotti Tops List of Men's Golf Postseason Award Winners

CHICAGO --- Conference champion Olivet Nazarene University and league runner-up St. Ambrose University each claimed a share of the league title for total number of awards accrued when the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2024 men's golf honor roll on Wednesday afternoon.  The two programs also secured one of the top individual awards each.

Olivet Nazarene was the only school to boast two representatives on the five-member all-conference first team as part of its five-award total.  St. Ambrose, meanwhile, captured 60 percent of the second team with its three selections.

Headlining the first team was CCAC Player of the Year Lorenzo Mariotti (Monte Argentario, Italy) of Olivet Nazarene.  The sophomore finished among the Top 5 golfers in four different events en route to his 75.8 average over 21 total rounds.

Mariotti, who was the CCAC Golfer of the Week three times during the season, garnered all-tournament recognition at both The Rail Tournament and the Spring Tiger Invite.  He placed third in the latter event as well as one other time.  He also tied for fifth place at the CCAC Championships to lead the Tigers to both their first league title and NAIA National Tournament bid.

Also doubling up on the awards stand was St. Ambrose's Jacob Stoetzel (Mokena, Ill.).  Besides making the five-member first team cut, he also added CCAC Freshman of the Year honors to his collection.  A 76.2 average over 23 rounds led to those accolades.

Stoetzel was at his best in the spring, where he averaged 74.7 strokes covering five tournaments and 11 rounds.  He recorded Top 5 finishes in four meets during the year, including three of the final four that the Bees competed in.

A CCAC Golfer of the Week in mid-April, Stoetzel had his best finish at the Loras College Duhawk Invitational, where he shot a two-over-par 146 over the two rounds.  He also tied for third at the CCAC Championships.  Another impressive performance was his 11th-place showing at the Western Illinois University Intercollegiate, where he averaged a 73.7 over his three rounds against primarily NCAA I competition.

The rest of the first team was made up of Olivet Nazarene's Jack Busch (Naperville, Ill.), Roosevelt University's Alvaro Pardo Gutierrez (San Sebastian, Spain) and Trinity Christian College's Ricardo Serpa (Amadora, Portugal).  The latter was the only repeat selection on the first team.

Roosevelt was the only other member school to have multiple award winners, finishing with a pair.

Olivet Nazarene also collected the final award, CCAC Coach of the Year recognition, which went to Brent Wright for leading the Tiger program to its historic feats.    

For the complete list of award winners, go to Awards.