Men's Golf Off to Pennsylvania for Nemacolin Events

2026 NEMACOLIN COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL - TEAM EVENT
Date	Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 5-6, 2026
Info Hub	EMU Notes (pdf)
Venue	Nemacolin Woodlands Resort - Mystic \| Farmington, Pa. \| Par: 72 \| Yards: 7,562
Live	Live Scoring (Scoreboard)
Social Media	EMU_Golf (X) \| Ea sternMichiganMensGolf (Instagram)

2026 SHEPHERD'S ROCK INDIVIDUAL
Date	Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 5-6, 2026
Info Hub	EMU Notes (pdf)
Venue	Nemacolin Woodlands Resort - Shepherd's Rock \| Farmington, Pa. \| Par: 72 \| Yards: 7,515
Live	n/a
Social Media	EMU_Golf (X) \| Ea sternMichiganMensGolf (Instagram)

FARMINGTON, Pa. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's golf team will send its entire roster to compete this week as the Eagles are set to play in two events hosted by West Virginia University at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resorts in Farmington, Pa., Oct. 5-6. Five Eagles will play as a team at the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational, which will be held on the resort's Mystic Course, while three individuals are set to play in the Shepherd's Rock Individual on the Shepherd's Rock Course.

THIS WEEK'S LINE UP
Here are the Eagles that will compete at the 2026 Nemacolin Invitational (Oct. 5-6):
Arsit Areephun (Y-5) • 69.7 avg. • T3rd in EMU debut at the Highlands Invitational (Sept. 25-26)
Charlie Box (Y-4) • 71.7 avg. • T25th at Highlands Invitational after a season-opening T34th in Arizona
Joshua Hess (Y-2) • 70.2 avg. • T9th at Highlands Invitational; back-to-back tourneys under par to open year
Vicente Quiroga (Y-1) • 71.2 avg. • First career top 20 at Highlands Invitational with T11th finish
Parin Sarasmut (Y-1) • 71.0 avg. • Runner-up in Arizona in debut event; MAC Golfer of the Week (Sept. 11)

Here are the Eagles that will compete at the 2026 Shepherd's Rock Individual (Oct. 5-6):
Robby Turnbull (Y-2) • 71.8 avg. • T23rd at Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate to open the season
Ben Sessions (Y-1) • 71.7 avg. • T65th in collegiate debut at Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate
Felipe Suarez (Y-2) • 69.7 avg. • 2025-26 NAIA All-American (#3 rank)... T29th in EMU debut in Arizona

CHIP INS
» Eastern has played two events and earned MAC Golfer of the Week honors twice as Arsit Areephun earned the weekly honor, Sept. 25, after he tied for third place at the Highland Invitational, his debut event with the program. The Delaware transfer shot 7-under 209 to claim the honor and join Parin Sarasmut, who was honored, Sept. 11, following his debut tournament that saw him tie the program's 54-hole record after shooting 16-under 200 to take second at the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate (Sept. 7-8). Sarasmut shot rounds of 66, 68, and 66 to tie Tyler Lewis' mark from 2018.
» Four players made their Eastern Michigan debuts at the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate (Sept. 7-8). The group included three players making their collegiate debuts in Parin Sarasmut, Vicente Quiroga, and Ben Sessions, while Felipe Suarez, a transfer from Missouri Valley College, played his first event at the NCAA Division I level after playing last year in the NAIA. The following event, the Highlands Invitational (Sept. 21-22) saw Arsit Areephun make his debut with the team.
» As a team, the Eagles shattered several records at the Bombs Darts Bird Collegiate (Sept. 7-8), including the 54-hole total score, 54-hole score to par, and the top two spots on the score to par list for individual rounds. Overall, the 830 strokes broke the previous record by two while the 34-under score blasted the previous best of 28-under by six strokes. EMU shot 272 in the third round and 273 in the first to post the second and fifth-best rounds, respectively, while taking the top two spots in score to par.
» The roster also features five newcomers, including three first-year collegiate players and two transfers. The first-year players include Vicente Quiroga (Bolivia), Parin Sarasmut (Thailand), and Ben Sessions (UK) while the transfers include Arsit Areephun (Thailand) from Delaware and Felipe Suarez (Argentina) from Missouri Valley College.
» Over the summer, the NCAA announced its new age-based eligibility model, which also is unofficially known as the five-in-five model. The new model gives student-athletes five years to compete for five seasons with no redshirting and other waivers being utilized moving forward.
» Andy Walker is back for his third year as the Eagles' head coach and brings a championship of his own from summer play after capturing medalist honors at the Yamaha Golf Cars Plus Michigan Senior Open, July 14-15, at Bedford Valley CC. Walker shot 6-under 138, including a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to force a playoff, where he won the title on the second hole.
» Former Eagle Stuart Grehan (2017-18) won The Amateur Championship that was played June 15-20 at Royal Liverpool in England. The Irishman captured the title at the 131st playing the event after finishing tied for 14th in stroke play (5-under 139) before winning six matches, including 1-up in the 36-hole final against American Matt Moloney.

FEELING HONORED
The MAC announced its weekly men's golf award, Sept. 25, with Arsit Areephun earning the distinction of MAC Golfer of the Week after his solid debut for EMU at the Highlands Invitational, Sept. 21-22, at Chicago Highlands Club in Westchester, Ill. Areephun was solid in his first tournament with Eastern Michigan as the Delaware transfer tied for third overall at 7-under 209 (68-70-71), which tied for the 25th-best 54-hole score in program history. Areephun, who played the past three years for the Blue Hens, recorded his second-lowest 54-hole score as a collegiate competitor, marking the fifth time he has finished at least one tournament each season with a score of 209. His collegiate best stands at 12-under 204 that he carded at the 2023 Loyola Intercollegiate. Overall, his play helped the Eagles, who finished ahead of fellow MAC foe Toledo (fourth), to a third-place finish as Eastern broke par in back-to-back tournaments (3-under 861) to open the season for the first time in program history.

FEELING HONORED • WEEK 1
The MAC announced its weekly men's golf award, Sept. 11, with Parin Sarasmut being named the MAC Golfer of the Week following an impressive finish in his first collegiate tournament earlier in the week for the Eagles. Playing as an individual, Sarasmut finished as the individual runner-up in the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate, which was played at Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Ariz., Sept. 7-8. He caught fire early as he finished second in the individual standings at 16-under 200 (66-68-66), just one stroke off the individual title won by Jake Lile (Arkansas State). Sarasmut tied Tyler Lewis for a pair of Eastern records as his 200 strokes tied Lewis' mark set in 2018 at the Loyola Intercollegiate while he also tied for the to-par record of 16-under that Lewis recorded at the same event. Additionally, Sarasmut's first and third-round scores of 66 tied for the 18th-lowest rounds in program history. Lastly, his 16-under score ranked third in the two-year history of the event in Arizona with the medalist each year shooting 17-under.

TOURNAMENT INFO: THE FACTS • NEMACOLIN
The Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational is a two-day, 54-hole tournament that will be hosted by West Virginia on the par-72, 7,562-yard Mystic Course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pa. The players from 17 teams will play 36 holes Monday, Oct. 5, with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. for the first round of play with the second to follow immediately after the first concludes. The final round of action will see tee times scheduled starting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6.

TOURNAMENT INFO: THE FACTS • SHEPHERD'S ROCK
Running concurrently, the Shepherd's Rock Individual will see players competing as individual entries from their respective teams play on the par-72, 7,515-yard Shepherd's Rock Course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. The schedule will mirror the team event with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start Monday, Oct. 5, with two rounds being played before the final round, Wednesday, Oct. 6, seeing tee times begin at 8:30 a.m.

TOURNAMENT INFO: THE FIELDS
The Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational and Shepherd's Rock Individual will feature players from 17 schools with all but one hailing from the Eastern time zone in top-ranked and defending national champion Auburn (Central). Along with the Tigers, Eagles, and host West Virginia, the remaining teams scheduled to compete include Campbell, Delaware, Drexel, George Mason, George Washington, Murray State, Rider, Robert Morris, Seton Hall, St. John's, St. Joseph's, Towson, UConn, and William & Mary.

IN THE RANKINGS • TEAMS
Of the 17 teams in the field, only one holds a spot in the Sept. 25 release of the Bushnell/Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll as Auburn currently holds the No. 1 position. The Tigers entered the year ranked No. 3 in the Golfweek Preseason Top 30 rankings before the first coaches' poll of the season was released and are the defending NCAA Champions.

EAGLE RANKINGS
Five members of the Eastern roster appeared in the final 2026 Scoreboard/Clippd rankings (June 8) with Charlie Box leading the returning NCAA Division I players on the team at No. 314. He is joined by Arsit Areephun, who was No. 347 with Delaware, and returning Eagles Robby Turnbull at No. 426 and Joshua Hess at No. 618. Also, Felipe Suarez, who played at Missouri Valley College, ended his first collegiate season ranked No. 3 on the NAIA ledger.

REVIEW: 2026 HIGHLANDS INVITATIONAL
Notes to recap the 2026 Highlands Invitational, which was played Sept. 21-22, at Chicago Highlands Club in Westchester, Ill., are below:
» Arsit Areephun was solid in his first tournament with Eastern Michigan as the Delaware transfer tied for third overall at 7-under 209 (68-70-71), which tied for the 25th-best 54-hole score in program history. Areephun, who played the past three years for the Blue Hens, recorded his second-lowest 54-hole score as a collegiate competitor, marking the fifth time he has finished at least one tournament each season with a score of 209. His collegiate best stands at 12-under 204 that he carded at the 2023 Loyola Intercollegiate.
» Joshua Hess continued the strong start to his second collegiate season as he tied for ninth at 1-under 215 (72-68-75). The score was the third-lowest of his career after he twice shot 206 for the Eagles, including at this year's season-opening tournament, the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate (Sept. 7-8). The finish, his second career top-10 showing, gave him back-to-back tournaments under par to start the season.
» Vicente Quiroga, who played as an individual, posted his first career top-20 finish as he shot 1-under 217 (74-71-72). His previous best came at the season-opening Birds Darts Bombs Collegiate (Sept. 7-8) where he tied for 34th overall.
» Eastern finished third overall as one of only three teams in the field to shoot under par as the Eagles shot 3-under 861 (286-281-294). The score marked a 12-stroke improvement from the 2025 Highlands Invitational and a two-place improvement in the standings after Eastern finished fifth at 9-over 873 last year.

GOING LOW
Eastern has played two tournaments this fall and broke par in the final team scoring in back-to-back tournaments for the first time in program history (dating back to the start of the 1990-91 season). Eastern shot 34-under 830 at the season-opening Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate (Sept. 7-8) to start the streak before shooting 3-under 861 in Chicago.

TEAM RECORD BOOK REWRITES
The Eagles took a red pen to the record book as their first and third-round scores at the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate (Sept. 7-8) ranked among the best in program history. In overall scoring, the 273 shot in the first round ranked tied for fifth overall while the 272 posted in the final round tied for second, just one off the 271 shot last year at the Hal Williams Collegiate (Feb. 16, 2026). Additionally, the 16-under score recorded in the third round is the record for all single-round scoring after bettering the 15-under recorded in the first round. The previous best was 14-under (274) recorded in the third round of the 2007 MAC Championships. Overall, the 830 strokes recorded are the lowest 54-hole total in program history, surpassing the 832 strokes tallied at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational, Sept. 9-10, 2019. Additionally, the 34-under score broke the mark by six after the Eagles shot 28-under 836 at the 2018 Loyola Intercollegiate (Feb. 25-26).

NEW ELIGIBILITY MODEL
The 2026-27 academic year will feature the first seasons under the NCAA's new age-based eligibility model, which has been commonly referred to as the 'five-in-five' model. Under the new legislation, student-athletes will have five years to play five seasons with redshirts, medical hardships, and other waivers seeking additional years of competition being eliminated. Eastern Michigan student-athletes across all sports will be listed with a 'Y' number to indicate the year of eligibility they are currently competing. For example, Charlie Box is listed as a Y-4, meaning he is in his fourth year and has two seasons (2026-27 and 2027-28) to compete while rookie Vicente Quiroga is a Y-1, meaning he is in his first year and has five seasons to compete (2026-27, 2027-28, 2028-29, 2029-30, and 2030-31).

BACK FOR MORE
EMU's roster features eight players with three back this year after joining the program ahead of the 2025-26 season. Those three players include Charlie Box, Joshua Hess, and Robby Turnbull, all of whom earned All-Mid-American Conference honors last year.
» Box was a two-time medalist in his first year with the program and his third collegiate season as he won the West Bay Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 6-7) in a playoff before sharing honors at the Muirfield Shootout (April 20). Box was named the MAC Golfer of the Year and finished the season with a school-record stroke average of 71.6, surpassing the 71.8 Beau Breault recorded in 2018-19.
» Hess posted a stroke average of 72.9 in his rookie season as the Swiss international played in 13 tournaments with six top-20 finishes. He was named to the All-MAC Second Team.
» Turnbull appeared in 10 tournaments for the Eagles and posted six finishes in the top 20 with two coming in the top 10. He averaged 72.4 strokes per round, which ranked tied for ninth in program history, before earning MAC Freshman of the Year accolades.

WELCOME ABOARD
The 2026-27 roster also welcomed five newcomers, including three first-year collegians and two transfers.
» Arsit Areephun was a three-year member of the Delaware program and won once for the Blue Hens with the title coming last season. A 2025-26 All-Conference USA Second Team selection, Areephun ended the season ranked in the top 350 of the college ranks after averaging 71.1 strokes per round.
» Vicente Quiroga has been ranked among the top 100 in the world and enters the season ranked No. 74 on the WAGR list. A first-year collegiate player from Bolivia, he posted top-10 finishes in 51-of-63 tournaments played from 2023-26 with 18 wins and 17 runner-up showings. He is one of two Quirogas playing in Ypsilanti this year as his sister, Constanza Quiroga, transferred to the women's program over the summer.
» Parin Sarasmut has also been ranked among the top 100 in the world and currently sits at No. 95 following another busy summer that saw him win the Ciputra Golfpreneur Junior World Championship for the second time in his career. He also was a member of the Thai National Team from 2023-25.
» Ben Sessions brings a wealth of experience playing in both stroke and match play competitions for England as he helped his team win several tournaments, most recently defending the crown earned at the Girls and Boys Home Internationals (match play) after winning the Sir Henry Cooper Championship.
» Felipe Suarez came to town after winning six tournaments for Missouri Valley College last year as a first-year player. An NAIA All-American that finished the year ranked No. 3 nationally, Suarez was also named the NAIA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Men's Freshman of the Year, the Heart of America Conference Golfer of the Year, and the HOAC Freshman of the Year after winning the conference's individual title.

WALKER IT OFF
Head Coach Andy Walker won the Yamaha Golf Cars Plus Michigan Senior Open this summer as he used a late run to capture the title at the event played July 14-15 at Bedford Valley Country Club in Battle Creek, Mich. Walker, who finished at 6-under-138, used a run of four consecutive birdies over the final four holes that included sinking a 30-foot putt on No. 18 to force a playoff. In that playoff, Walker made birdie on the second hole to win the title.

WIN OF THE IRISH
Former Eagle Stuart Grehan (2017-18) won The Amateur Championship that was played June 15-20 at Royal Liverpool in England. The Irishman captured the title at the 131st playing the event after finishing tied for 14th in stroke play (5-under 139) before winning six matches, including 1-up in the 36-hole final against American Matt Moloney.

ON THE HORIZON
The final event of the five-tournament fall schedule awaits Eastern Michigan in two weeks when the Eagles head to Jonesborough, Tenn., to compete in the Bank of Tennessee Invitational, Oct. 19-21. The three-day event will be hosted by East Tennessee State at Blackthorn Country Club.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Arsit Areephun

Charlie Box

Joshua Hess

Vicente Quiroga

Parin Sarasmut

Ben Sessions

Felipe Suarez

Robby Turnbull

Eastern Michigan Athletics