May 3, 2005

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GALENA, Ohio - Freshman Doug Barber completed his wire-to-wire victory at the Horizon League Championship on Tuesday, shooting a 73 to win the school's first individual league title. The freshman finished the 54-hole event at the 6,632-yard, par 72 Royal American Links at even-par 216 (71-72-73) -- three shots clear of UW-Green Bay's Eric Mabee and Detroit's Kyler Murphy.

Barber admitted to battling nerves on the back nine but conceded that he "probably wasn't as nervous as some of the people watching."

Leading Murphy by only a stroke heading into the final hole, Barber pulled his drive to the left behind a tree, while his Detroit counterpart found the fairway. However, after watching Murphy push his approach shot right, Barber punched out to 110 yards and stuffed his next shot 10 feet below the hole.

In an almost impossible position, Murphy's chip wound up about 35 feet from the hole and after missing the par putt, he could only watch as Barber's championship-clinching putt for par found nothing but the bottom of the cup.

"I laid up to a good yardage for my wedge," Barber explained. "We've been working on our short game all year and the practice paid off.

"I just wanted to come out and play to the best of my ability this week and was lucky that my putter got hot. This is a great feeling."

The Titans did manage to hold on to their 36-hole lead to claim the team championship at 891, defeating Wright State (897) by six strokes. UW-Green Bay and Cleveland State followed closely behind at 898 and 899, respectively.

"Obviously, we were not that far out of second or even from challenging for the title," CSU head coach Tom Porten said. "I'm elated for Doug, and the best part is that he's just starting to scratch the surface with his ability."

Following the tournament, the Vikings received more good news as sophomores Ben Grandy and Mike Rutgers were named to the All-Horizon League Team -- the first such honor for both golfers.