Valparaiso Women, Green Bay Men Score Victories

INDIANAPOLIS--Valparaiso women took the team title at the SIUE DoubleTree Invitational with scores of 324-315=639. The total was good for a three shot vicotry over Lipscomb. The Crusaders weren't the only Horizon League golf team to pick up a victory over the weekend, Green Bay men defended their title at the Chicago State Cougar Classic. The Phoenix shot rounds of 298-294=592 to best Texas Pan American by six shots.

Men’s Results
Chicago State Cougar Classic
Harborside International Golf Center (Par 72, 7,164)
Horizon League Participant
1 Green Bay
Top Horizon League Golfers
T2 Joe Collard 73-73=146
T5 Gene Kiela 74-74=148
T5 Dan Ozga 77-71=148

Results
Recap

CHICAGO, Ill. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay men’s golf team’s great start to the 2013-14 continued on Tuesday at Harborside International Golf Course in Chicago. Playing the back nine in 2-under par, senior Dan Ozga (Edgerton, Wis.) carded a final round 71 to lead the Phoenix to the team title at the CSU Invitational hosted by Chicago State.

After also winning the Green Bay Shootout and the Green Bay Invitational to start the season, the win was the third in four events for Green Bay this fall. The Phoenix also have had the individual medalist in three of four events and finished third in the John Piper Intercollegiate.

Green Bay held a 3-shot lead after Monday’s opening 18 holes, and the Phoenix was again three strokes better than anyone in the field in the final round. With a team score of 592 (298-294), Green Bay finished six strokes in front of second-place Texas Pan American and 14 shots clear of third-place Loyola (606). Eastern Illinois (619) and Chicago State (620) rounded out the field.

Leading the Phoenix was junior Joseph Collard (Marinette, Wis.), who carded his second consecutive round of 1-over par 73 and finished in a tie for second place individually (146=73-73), just one shot back of medalist Ricardo Solis (145=75-70). Collard had 23 pars in the 36-hole event and led the field in scoring on the par fours at 2-under par.

Ozga bounced back from an opening round 77 to lead the Phoenix on day two and finish in a tie for fifth place at 4-over 148 (77-71). The senior was 2-over through 14 holes before making birdie on three of the final four holes. Sophomore Gene Kiela (Plymouth, Wis.) also finished tied for fifth place after a second-straight 2-over par 74 to finish in the top-10 for the fourth time in as many events this season.

Redshirt freshman Joe Du Chateau (Fond du Lac, Wis.) finished tied for ninth (150=74-76) while junior Tom Boockmeier (Green Bay, Wis.), who entered after two-straight victories, finished in a tie for 18th.

Green Bay returns to the Chicagoland area this weekend to compete in the Dallio Memorial hosted by DePaul at Ruffled Feathers Country Club. The 54-hole event will begin with two rounds on Saturday and conclude with Sunday’s final round. Fans can follow live scoring for the 11-team tournament by clicking here.

Wolf Run Intercollegiate
Wolf Run Golf Club (Par 71, 7,155 yards)
Top Horizon League Participant
12 Oakland 312-307-313=931
Top Horizon League Golfers
T28 Evan Bowser, Oakland 73-80-73=226
T28 Alex Turner, Oakland 75-73-78=226
T46 Mark Foster, Oakland 79-78-74=231

Results
Recap

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. - Evan Bowser shot a team-best 73 (+2) to tie for 28th place overall and Alex Turner also ended the tournament tied for 28th to lead the Oakland Men's Golf Team to a 12th-place finish at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate on Sunday at Wolf Run Golf Club.

"I would say this was (Alex) Turner's best event of his collegiate career, especially considering the difficulty of the course," said head coach Russ Cunningham. "Still searching for a third and fourth score, so hopefully a couple players step up this week as we prepare for our final two events of the fall."
Mark Foster shot a 3-over-par 74 in the final round, cutting four shots of his second round score, to close the tournament with a top-50 finish.

Illinois won the tournament after holding on to its day one lead with a final score of 844 (-8), 33 shots ahead of second place Auburn, followed by Kentucky, with a final score of 882 (+30). Thomas Detry was the medalist winner with a final round of 71 (E) to end the tournament with a 209 (-4).

The Golden Grizzlies will be in action next week when they compete in the Cleveland State Invitational at Barrington Country Club starting on Monday, September 30th.

Louisville Cardinal Intercollegiate
Cardinal Club (Par 72, 7,036)
Horizon League Participant
15 Wright State 314-307-307=926
Top Horizon League Golfers
40 Cody Nickson 77-73-75=225
T60 Tyler McHugh 78-77-77
T60 Ryan Wenzler 78-76-78

Results
Recap

The Wright State golf team competed in the final round of the Cardinal Intercollegiate Tuesday at the Cardinal Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky.

Cody Nickson was the top finisher for the Raiders as he placed 40th with a three-round score of 225 (77-73-75).

Wright State returns to action at the Cleveland State Invitational September 30-October 1.

Women’s Results
SIUE DoubleTree Invitational
Sunset Hills Country Club (Par 72, 6,230)
Horizon League Participant
1 Valparaiso 324-315=639
Top Horizon League Golfers
T3 Michelle Kleckner 81-76=157
5 Erika Pfaender 76-82=168
T14 Angie Kim 87-76=163

Results
Recap

The Valparaiso women's golf program claimed a tournament championship for the second time in program history on Tuesday, earning the title at the SIUE DoubleTree Invitational in Edwardsville, Ill. at Sunset Hills C.C. by three strokes over Lipscomb. All five Crusaders finished among the top-20 golfers in the 60-person field.

The Crusaders trailed Lipscomb by three shots following Monday's opening round, but bested the Bison by six strokes on Tuesday, posting a team round of 315 to close the tournament three-shot victors with a score of 639. The tournament championship is the second in program history, with the only other coming last season at Valpo's own Crusader Spring Invitational. That tournament featured just three teams, however, as opposed to this tournament's 10-team field.

"The golf course this week was pretty difficult - a really hilly course, which is something we don't really see a lot and caused a lot of unlevel lies," said Crusader head coach Mat Blair. "I think that was part of the reason scores were a bit higher than normal tournaments. Overall, I thought our girls played well. I thought we minimized our number of big mistakes, for the most part, and just played well collectively as a team."

Valpo was led on Tuesday by senior Michelle Kleckner (New Brighton, Minn./Irondale), who shot a round of 76 to close out the tournament at 157, good for a tie for third place. Fellow senior Erika Pfaender (Pewaukee, Wis./Arrowhead) shot an 82 on Tuesday to finish in fifth position with a total of 158.

Freshman Angie Kim (Schaumburg, Ill./Fremd) matched Kleckner for the Crusaders' low round of the day, carding a 76 for a total of 163, coming home in a tie for 14th place. Sophomore Sibil Gill (Kokomo, Ind./Western) finished two shots back of Kim at 165, good for a tie for 17th after a round of 83 on Tuesday, while senior Brianna Davy (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) rounded out the quintet of Crusaders with a final-round 81 to finish in a tie for 19th at 166.

"That's the one good thing about having a few years under our belts, is that now, we can go about seven to eight deep, as opposed to being maybe just five-deep before," said Blair on winning the tournament without Kelly Voigt, an All-League honoree last year, in the lineup. "It's really nice to have that flexibility in the team - to know that we can compete at every tournament with anybody we put on the golf course."

Valparaiso has next week off before returning to the links on Monday, October 7.

Cleveland State Invitational 
Pine Hills Golf Club (Par 73, 5,860)
Horizon League Participants
3 Youngstown State 311-313=624
4 Detroit 318-312=630
6 Cleveland State 318-323=642
Top Horizon League Golfers
T2 Aislynn Merling, Youngstown State 77-73=150
T2 Christina Thorne, Detroit 76-74=150
5   Lindsey Lammers, Detroit 77-74=151

Results
Cleveland State Recap
Youngstown State Recap
Detroit Recap

HINCKLEY, Ohio - Firing the lowest final-round score on Tuesday moved Youngstown State golfer Aislynn Merling into a second-place finish at the Cleveland State Invitational which wrapped up on Tuesday afternoon.

Merling had a two-round total of 150 with rounds of 77 on Monday and her 73 on Tuesday. She was in a tie for eighth place following the first round.

As a team the Penguins placed third with a total of 624. YSU had a 311 on Monday and 313 on Tuesday. Bowling Green won the title with a 36 hole total of 608 (300-308), while BGSU's Shelby Wilson claimed medalist honors with a three-over-par 149 (74-75), winning by one shot over a trio of golfers.

YSU returns to fall action on Oct. 7-8 when it competes at the Robert Morris Classic.

For Detroit, senior Christina Thorne was just one shot off the lead and senior Lindsey Lammers made a charge up the leaderboard as the Titans women's golf team claimed fourth.

"We played well except for a hole or two yesterday and today, we just didn't close it out," said head coach Terri Anthony-Ryan. "We were about eight over on the last few holes and when you take that away, we were right there. We just need to close better, but we are fine and we will improve."

Thorne came into the final round just two shots off the lead and was able to make one stroke up tallying a 1-over 74 to tie for second with a 150 (76-74). It was the fifth career runner-up finish for Thorne.

Lammers took three shots off her first round score as she also carded a 1-over 74 earning fifth with a 151 (77-74) total. The fifth-place effort was her 18 career top-10 mark.

The Titans will have a few weeks of practice before their next event as they go back into Ohio for Toledo's Rocket Classic from Oct. 14-15, held at the Catawba Island Golf Club

Cleveland State shot a final round 323 and finished sixth of eight teams.

Senior Micaela Cronin was CSU's top finisher, tying for 10th place with rounds of 79-77 (156). Senior Shelly Ford matched Cronin for low round today with a 77 and wound up tied for 20th place at 160 (83-77).

The Vikings are now out of action until Oct. 7-8 when CSU competes in the MAC Preview.