Wittenberg University Women's Golf

Bonar, class of 2005, returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach prior to the 2007-08 season. After a tremendous collegiate golf career in which he earned all-conference designations every year, Bonar assists Head Coach Jeff Roope in running both the mens and womens teams. An all-conference golfer in both high school and college, Bonar served as team captain his junior and senior years as a Tiger. After earning an All-Great Lakes Region selection his final year in the Red & White, Bonar graduated from Wittenberg with a degree in mathematics and education. Bonar has continued to excel on the course as a player since graduating from Wittenberg. He is a former champion of the Clark County Matchplay Championship and the stroke-play Springfield City-Am, and he has qualified for the Ohio Amateur multiple times in recent years. Bonar resides in Dayton, Ohio, with his wife Audrey and son Lucas. He teaches math at Fairborn High School.

Roope was named head coach of both the men's and women's golf programs in July 2007 after four years as a women's golf assistant coach at nearby Otterbein College. Almost immediately, Roope turned both Tiger teams into perennial contenders for conference championships and NCAA Division III Tournament bids. The men made big strides in his first two years, moving up quickly from fourth place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), and both teams have re-written the school record books for team and individual scoring. The breakthrough took place in 2010, starting a six-year run atop the NCAC for the men's team. Wittenberg advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournaments in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, finishing sixth, 21st, seventh, 13th, fifth and third, respectively. Roope has been named NCAC Men's Golf Coach of the Year five times, and he added Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year in 2014. Tiger players won the NCAC's Bob Nye Award as the conference's individual medalist six straight years, with Craig Osterbrock becoming the program's first All-American in nearly 20 years with back-to-back awards in 2010 and 2011, followed by David Wetterich in 2012, and Alex Andrews in 2013. In 2014, Andrews, John Chaney and Ben Hogenkamp made the list, and in 2015, Andrews and Chaney were honored nationally. Roope also owns two Great Lakes Region Women's Coach of the Year awards as the Tiger women have rapidly ascended over the same time period, ranking in the top 25 nationally at the conclusion of five straight seasons, starting in 2010-11. After taking second place in three of the first four NCAC Tournaments, Roope guided the team to its first league title in 2015. The NCAC Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015, Roope then guided the Tigers to the brink of a national championship in the program's first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament appearance as Wittenberg finished second in the nation in 2015. During Roope's time at Otterbein, the Cardinals won three Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championships, capped in 2006 when all five golfers finished in the individual top 10 to earn All-OAC honors. Otterbein women's golf won 19 team titles and recorded 18 individual titles in tournament play over the last four years, and Cardinal players earned 17 all-conference honors in that span. Prior to joining the Cardinals, Roope served as girls' golf coach at Upper Arlington High School in Columbus for the 2002 and 2003 seasons. His teams won back-to-back Mid-Ohio Girl's Golf League (MOGGL) championships, and he was honored as the league's Coach of the Year in 2002. In addition to coaching, he previously worked as an assistant tournament director with the Florida State Golf Association and as an assistant caddiemaster at famed Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, site of the Professional Golf Association's (PGA) annual Memorial Tournament. Roope has successfully completed the PGA/USGA Rules of Golf School and the PGA of America's Playing Ability Test, required for certification as a teaching professional. Roope is a former chair of the Great Lakes Regional Advisory Committee to the NCAA Division III men's golf selection committee, and he successfully completed his third PGA/USGA rules of golf school in 2012. In 2011, he was named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association Board of Directors, where he is currently serving his second consecutive term as the Division III representative. He is a member of the NCAA Women's Great Lakes Regional Advisory Committee, GCAA All-America selection committee, WGCA awards committee, and chair of the GCAA Great Lakes All-Region advisory committee. Roope also competes as an amateur golfer in local and regional events. He has posted several top finishes in recent years, including a Top 10 finish in the 2008 Franklin County Amateur Championship. A native of Grove City, Ohio, Roope earned a degree in sport management from Bowling Green State University in 1993 and a master's degree in sport education from Ashland University in 2006. He resides in Columbus with his wife, Nicole, and their daughter, Madeline.