Under the direction of second-year head coach John Sjoberg, the 2012-13 Emory golf team waited until the end of the season to deliver its most impressive performance.  The Eagles, who ended the regular season ranked No. 9 nationally, posted a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships, the program's best-ever showing at the event.  The nationals were held at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin, Florida.

Prior to its performance at the NCAAs, the Eagles experienced the normal highs and lows that any team faces throughout the year.  Competing in the formidable South Region, which featured four of the nation's top-10 teams, by the time the squad had put its clubs away for the season, it had come through with some noteworthy accomplishments. 

** Earning the program’s 11^th straight and 18^th-ever bid to the NCAA D-III Championships.

** In addition to posting a school-best fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the team's final 72-hole score of 1191 represented the program's second-best effort in that event,  second only the 2011 squad's showing of 1187.  In addition, it marked the seventh top-10 showing in school history.

** Seeing Johnathan Chen put on a stirring performance at the NCAAs, tying for third place out of the 210 players who originally comprised the field with a final mark of 289, the best score ever posted by an Emory player at nationals.  Chen's third-place finish was the second-best individual school performance at the Championships, behind only Lee Palms who captured the national title in 1991.

** The Eagles' final round performance of 295 at the NCAAs, tied the program's fourth-best score at the NCAAs.  

** Having Chen and Wunderlich each tie the school for lowest score at the NCAAs with each player posting a 70. Chen registered his mark during the second round and Wunderlich on the final day.

** Being ranked 9^th nationally in the final Golf World/NIKE Division III Coaches’ Poll.

** Having two its players, junior Johnathan Chen and sophomore Alex Wunderlich capture All-America acclaim 

** Finishing with a total of six top-10 finishes in 10 tournaments.

** Placing Johnathan Chen on the Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar Team. 

** Seeing Johnathan Chen, David Collura and Alex Wunderlich garner spots on the Georgia Cup All-State Team.

Having to replace three-time All-American Ryan Dagerman in the lineup, Sjoberg turned to junior Johnathan Chen, sophomore Alex Wunderlich, senior David Collura and juniors Will Roth and Alec Berens into the lineup for the majority of the season.  All five recorded 23 or more rounds of action with Wunderlich ending the season as the team's top scorer with a 75.16 strokes-per-round average, just ahead of Chen's effort of 75.36. 

The team showed what it was capable of during the fall portion of the schedule with a respectable fifth-place finish at the 54-hole Gordin Classic in Columbus, Ohio, followed by a fourth-place performance out of 15 teams at the Royal Lakes/Oglethorpe Fall Invitational. Chen and Wunderlich highlighted the Eagles' effort at Royal Lakes with the pair tying for ninth place in the 87-player field. 

After playing a rare dual match against Oglethorpe to kick off the spring, the Eagles battled back from a tough opening round to claw its way to a fourth-place finish out of 19 teams at the Callaway Gardens Intercollegiate.  Wunderlich paced the team's effort in the 36-hole tourney with his score of 149 placing him fourth on the leader board out of 105 players. Following a second-place finish at the UAA Championships, Emory came through with a steady effort at the highly regarded Jekylly Island Invitational, coming in fourth out of 30 teams.  Emory had three players finish among the top 30 in the 105-player field with Chen coming in 12th (224), Collura 25th (226) and Wunderlich 26th (227). 

The first day of the D-III Championships saw Emory record a score of 303 that placed it 12th out of the 41 teams that earned bids to the field.   Heading into the second round, the Eagles were well aware that they needed to deliver a solid outing in order to rank among the 15 teams that would survive the cut.  Emory did just that, shooting a 296 that ranked as the sixth-best score in the field that day and which allowed it to move up three slots to the ninth position.   Sjoberg saw his re-energized troops continue their climb up the scoreboard during the third round with the team's 297 moving into into a fifth-place tie with Claremont-Mudd Scripps, just three strokes from fourth.  Emory finished with a flourish with the final-round score of 295, the fourth-best Emory score at nationals, snapping the deadlock with CMS and overtaking Illinois Wesleyan to close out with a fourth-place finish.   Chen finished third in the field, establishing a school record for the lowest score at nationals with a 289, while Wunderlich's final total of 291 tied for the second-lowest mark and tied him for seventh place. 

Honors