Men's golf finishes in national semifinals
Article By: Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia (91ÁÔÆæ) men's golf team didn't bring home the ultimate team prize it was seeking in the NCAA Division II championship at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. But the Nighthawks reached the national semifinals and pushed defending national champion Colorado Christian throughout the teams' semifinal medal match before falling 4-1 when it wrapped up the morning of May 23.
91ÁÔÆæ defeated Florida Southern College 3-2 in its national quarterfinal match May 22, powered by victories from , and . The semifinal began later that day before weather delayed the finish until the next morning. Threlkeld also scored the lone victory for the Nighthawks in their semifinal loss.
The Nighthawks, coming off a national runner-up finish in 2024, reached medal match play by recording a 3-over-par three-round stroke-play score from May 19-21 to earn the No. 5 seed among the eight teams advancing to the national quarterfinal matches.
Hunter Smith's individual national title at 6-under-par paced 91ÁÔÆæ in stroke play, with Hughes Threlkeld and Ethan Day both at 2-over and tying for 26th place.
Even though the Nighthawks did not bring home the team national championship, they made more history during the 2024-25 season.
Smith earned only the second individual national championship in 91ÁÔÆæ history, which was the first in men's golf.
The Nighthawks earned their second consecutive NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional title, this time outdistancing the field by 24 shots. Vajda earned his second consecutive individual regional championship, as well.
This all came during a season in which 91ÁÔÆæ reached the NCAA tournament for a fifth straight season, the NCAA championship for a fourth year in a row and match play at nationals for the second straight season.
Softball team drops two games at nationals
The 91ÁÔÆæ softball team lost both games it played in the NCAA Division II championship, falling against Saginaw Valley State and Western Washington.
Nighthawks return to tennis Elite Eight
The 91ÁÔÆæ women's tennis team reached the national quarterfinals for a second straight season, while the men's team fell in its NCAA Division II championship opener.
Smith wins men's golf national championship
91ÁÔÆæ junior Hunter Smith won the NCAA Division II men's golf individual national title May 21 before helping the Nighthawks finish in the top four nationally as a team.