Rasmus
Matt Durisko

Men's Golf Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Seppanen Finishes in a Tie for 11th to Lead Gannon at NCAA Div. II National Championships

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The Gannon men's golf team wrapped up play in the NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championships on Wednesday with its best round of the 54-hole tournament. The Golden Knights shot a four-man total of 296, 8-over par. The round helped Gannon move up three spots to 16th in the final team standings.
 
Rasmus Seppanen (Bastad, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) concluded an outstanding season for the Golden Knights barely missing All-American honors. The redshirt sophomore from Sweden ended with a 54-hole total of 2-under par 214. He finished in a tied for 11th, with the top ten golfers and ties earning All-American honors.
 
A total of 20 teams participated in the three-day event at PGA National Champions Course. The top eight teams now move on to play in the head-to-head medal play tournament over the next two days.
 
Colorado Christian came from seven strokes back at the start of the round to win the tournament with a score of 8-under par 856. West Florida was in second place at 6-under 858, while Missouri S&T, the leader by three strokes after 36 holes, came in third at 1-under 863. Gannon had rounds of 297-307 and 296.
 
Gannon was competing in the Div. II National Championships for the fourth time in the last five years. The 16th place finish comes after back-to-back 19th-place finishes and is the highest since the 2021 team finished tenth.
 
Hunter Smith of North Georgia and Florida Southern's Colton Swartz entered the final round tied for first at 6-under par 210. Smith prevailed by a shot on Wednesday to earn medalist honors thanks to an even-par 72. A four-way tie for second at 211 featured Swartz, Drew Zielinski of Lee, Wingate's Brandon Skidmore, and Sangha Park of Colorado Christian.
 
The back nine once again proved to be tough on the Golden Knights as the five golfers combined for 11 bogeys and six double bogeys, countered by six bogeys on the back nine.
 
Seppanen posted Gannon's highest finish since Abe Holmes came in seventh in 2021. He made the turn at 2-under after shooting 34 on the front nine, then added a 36 on the back nine for his second 70 in three days. He ended the 54 holes with rounds of 70, 74 and 70 for a 2-under par total.
 
Mattia Parrini (Verolengo, Italy/Verolengo) also carded a 2-under 70 on the final day. The round helped the sophomore from Italy climb 29 spots to 67th with a 54-hole total of 11-over 227. That was one stroke behind Giovanni Delorenzi (Reggio Emilia, Italy/International School of Modena) who shot 78 on Wednesday for a 10-over 226 total.

THE TOP 8 TEAMS (20 teams total – top eight advance to medal play)
1.  Colorado Christian – 291-285-280 – 856 (-8)
2.  West Florida – 290-282-286 – 858 (-6)
3.  Missouri S&T – 289-280-294 -- 863 (-1)
4.  Florida Southern – 286-294-286 – 866 (+2)
5.  North Georgia – 289-292-286 -- 867 (+3)
6.  Wingate – 291-287-291 – 869 (+5)
7.  St. Mary's (TX) – 279-293-302 – 874 (+10)
8.  Oklahoma Christian – 296-297-282 – 875 (+11)  
16. GANNON – 297-307-296 -- 900 (+36)
 
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (108 golfers)
1.  Hunter Smith, North Georgia – 71-67-72 – 210 (-6)
T2.  Colton Swartz, Florida Southern – 67-71-73 – 211 (-5)
T2.  Drew Zielinski, Lee – 72-70-69 – 211 (-5)
T2.  Brandon Skidmore, Wingate – 71-72-68 – 211 (-5)
T2.  Sangha Park, Colorado Christian – 74-70-67 – 211 (-5)
 
GANNON LINEUP
T11.  Rasmus Seppanen (Bastad, Sweden/Akademi Bastad Gymnasium) – 70-74-70 -- 214 (-2)                    
T62.  Giovanni Delorenzi (Reggio Emilia, Italy/International School of Modena) – 72-76-78 – 226 (+10)    
67.  Mattia Parrini (Verolengo, Italy/Verolengo) – 79-78-70 -- 227 (+11)                             
T94.  Elijah Ruppert (Fleetwood, Pa./Brandywine Heights) – 76-79-81 -- 236 (+20)                        
98.  Kyle Westfall (Erie, Pa./Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy (Erie)) – 81-81-78 -- 240 (+24)
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Players Mentioned

Giovanni Delorenzi

Giovanni Delorenzi

6' 1"
Junior
Environmental Health Engineering
Mattia Parrini

Mattia Parrini

Sophomore
Business/Management
Elijah Ruppert

Elijah Ruppert

6' 1"
Senior
Environmental Engineering
Rasmus Seppanen

Rasmus Seppanen

Redshirt Sophomore
Computer Science
Kyle Westfall

Kyle Westfall

6' 0"
Sophomore
Electrical Engineering

Players Mentioned

Giovanni Delorenzi

Giovanni Delorenzi

6' 1"
Junior
Environmental Health Engineering
Mattia Parrini

Mattia Parrini

Sophomore
Business/Management
Elijah Ruppert

Elijah Ruppert

6' 1"
Senior
Environmental Engineering
Rasmus Seppanen

Rasmus Seppanen

Redshirt Sophomore
Computer Science
Kyle Westfall

Kyle Westfall

6' 0"
Sophomore
Electrical Engineering