Waconia, Minn. - The Crown College Polars hosted rival North Central University (NCU) for the annual President's Cup exhibition Monday at Island View Golf Club in Waconia, Minn. The Crown women's program retained the President's Cup after NCU was unable to field a women's team, while the men's side fell to the Rams in a closely contested 4.5–3.5 decision.
The men's competition featured two four-player matches, each contested across three formats: best ball (holes 1–6), alternate shot (holes 7–12), and individual match play (holes 13–18).
In the first match, Steven Dimmel and Grant Bestland squared off against NCU's Joe Stanton and Sterling Krick. Crown came out strong, taking the best ball segment on the opening six holes to claim the first point of the day. NCU answered in the alternate shot portion, evening the match at one point apiece heading into the individual duels.
From there, Grant Bestland delivered one of the day's standout performances, dispatching Sterling Krick 3-up with two holes remaining to clinch a point for the Polars. In the final individual match, Steven Dimmel found himself one down heading into the 18th hole — and rose to the occasion, winning the hole to earn a hard-fought halve. The split gave Crown 2.5 points to NCU's 1.5 in the first match.
The second match saw Dimitri Mesnickow and Carter Miller take on Ashton Standsfield and Jackson Springer. NCU grabbed the early advantage, winning the best ball segment on holes 1–6. Crown responded with a strong alternate shot showing on holes 7–12, knotting the match at one point each. The Rams then closed things out in the individual matches — Mesnickow fell 3-down with two holes to play against Standsfield, and Miller dropped a heartbreaker to Springer, losing 1-up after tying the 18th hole. NCU took the second match 3–1.
Combined, the Rams edged the Polars 4.5–3.5 in the overall men's competition.
With the President's Cup in the rearview mirror, both Crown and NCU shift their focus immediately to the UMAC Championship, which begins tomorrow, October 8, at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker, Minn. The three-round championship runs through October 10, with the Polars looking to make their mark on the conference stage.
