Team Sharber, Team Lamb advance to finals of Polar Bear Cup Challenge golf tournament

October 20, 2020

By Tim Glon

ADA — Team Sharber and Team Lamb advanced to the championship match of the Polar Bear Cup Challenge in the semifinals on Sunday at Colonial Golfers Club.

Second-seeded Sharber defeated third-seeded Team Ludwig 6-2, while top-seeded Team Lamb avoided an upset by tying fourth-seeded Team Hairston 4-4.

Sharber and Lamb will meet for the title and the DiBiasio Trophy on Sunday at 8 am.

Ludwig and Hairston will battle for third place on Sunday as well.

In a battle of unbeatens, Hairston sophomore Josh Steyer (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) edged Lamb junior Austin White (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) 2 & 1. Steyer is now 5-0 in Polar Bear Cup play, while White falls to 6-1.

Freshman Grace Honigford (Mason/Lakota East) of Team Sharber is also undefeated at 6-0-1 after defeating def. Annika Neumann (Ludwig), 2 & 1.

Sophomore Meghan Utterdyke (Franklin/Fenwick) of Team Lamb improved to 5-0-1 with an 8 & 7 win over sophomore Jessica Tubbs (Holland/Springfield).

The Ohio Northern men's and women's golf teams divided themselves up into four 10-player teams for the Polar Bear Cup Challenge, a Ryder Cup-style tournament that will be contested over eight rounds.

Teams earn points by winning head-to-head, Ryder Cup-style competitions and by succeeding in individual skills challenges each week for the first six weeks.

Team standings will seed the teams for the semifinals and finals the final two weeks, which will feature head-to-head match play competition.

The first six rounds of competition featured three alternate shot competitions between each team: one men's, one women's and one mixed with one point awarded to the front 9, back 9 and total 18-hole winners.

Players not involved in the alternate shot competition had chances to earn team points by making a 5-foot putt, lagging to within 3 feet of the cup on a 40-foot putt, chipping from 15 yards out to within 2 feet of the cup and from getting within 20 feet on a 50-yard approach shot.

Teams are named in honor of past coaches that have made a positive impact on the Ohio Northern golf programs.

Jacque Sharber was one of the first women's golf coaches and transitioned the team into a full-fledged varsity program.

Stacey Hairston led the Polar Bear women's team to the Ohio Athletic Conference title and the NCAA III Tournament in 2007 and is the women's program's all-time winningest coach with a 436-165-3 record in seven seasons.

Helen Ludwig is considered one of the developers and guardians of women's athletics at Ohio Northern University. She was critical in the formation of women's athletic teams before and during the implementation of Title IX. From 1963-84, she served as an assistant athletic director, the academic director of the Department of Physical Education and a head or assistant coach for nearly all of ONU's female athletic teams before she retired from ONU.

Clyde Lamb was the first men's golf coach at Ohio Northern in 1937 and led the Polar Bears to five consecutive Mid-Ohio League championships from 1950-54. He coached football, baseball, golf and tennis and served as athletics director at ONU from 1932-1969.

Check back to ONUSports.com each Monday for more updates.

Semifinal Results - Match Play

Lamb tied Hairston, 4-4

   Ethan Smith (Lamb) def. Sam Straker (Hairston), 5 & 4
   Allison Rountree (Lamb) def. Allison Logue (Hairston), 8 & 7
   Meghan Utterdyke (Lamb) def. Jessica Tubbs (Hairston), 8 & 7
   Garrett Allen (Lamb) def. Jeff Baker (Hairston), 2 & 1
   Jeff Baker (Hairston) def. Luke Gilliland (Lamb), 1-Up
Josh Steyer (Hairston) def. Austin White (Lamb), 2 & 1
   Rylie Smith (Hairston) def. Lydia Cranmer (Lamb), 1-Up
   Shelby Starkey (Hairston) def. Erika Brooks (Lamb), 12 & 9

Sharber def. Ludwig, 6-2

   Mason Roush (Sharber) def. Ethan Hartman (Ludwig), 7 & 6
   Matt Russo (Sharber) def. Andrew Lyon (Ludwig), 1-Up
   Karlee Staugler (Sharber) def. Angela Miller (Ludwig), 2 & 1
   Julia Gutchall (Sharber) def. Ellie Miller (Ludwig), 4 & 3
   Andrew Slusher (Sharber) def. Jacob Brooks (Ludwig), 6 & 5
   Grace Honigford (Sharber) def. Annika Neumann (Ludwig), 2 & 1
   Nolan Kimberly (Ludwig) def. Jared Hernandez (Sharber), 6 & 5
   Torrie Smith (Ludwig) def. Olivia Galigher (Sharber), 1-Up