DeKALB –  The spring competition season is set for NIU men’s golf with five tournaments, culminating with the Mid-American Conference championship in May. Graduate student Tommy Dunsire will lead the way for the Huskies. 

NIU ended the fall season competing in five tournaments with an average score of 292.1. The team’s best finish came at the Saint Mary’s Invitational, placing eighth out of 16 teams.

After losing a key golfer in Reece Nilson before the fall, Dunsire emerged as NIU’s top golfer. Playing 108 rounds of golf in his career, he is the most experienced on the team. Dunsire finished top-20 individually 12 times, including a 15th place finish at last year’s MAC championship. 

In the fall, Dunsire broke the NIU 18-hole scoring record, shooting a 64 on a par 72 in the second round of the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational. Going into the spring season, Dunsire holds NIU’s best stroke average with 71.9. 

Sophomore Ben Sluzas will also be a key golfer for NIU this spring. In Sluzas’ first year, he competed in 11 tournaments and played 33 rounds. He finished last year’s spring season with a 74.37 stroke average which he improved to 72.6 after the fall. 

In the Huskies’ first tournament of the fall – the Badger Invitational – Sluzas tied for first and earned NIU’s best individual finish. Shooting nine under par, Sluzas’ performance led to his first MAC golfer of the week award. 

Another top golfer for NIU is also the newest member of the team. Graduate student Campbell Wolf transferred from East Tennessee State University prior to the start of the fall season. Wolf competed in four of the five tournaments during the fall season and placed in the top three for the Huskies in every tournament he played in. 

A Huskie to watch in the upcoming season is freshman Ian Bruchhauser. Bruchhauser competed in four of NIU’s fall tournaments and finished with the fourth best stroke average on the team with 75.5. In high school, Bruchhauser qualified for the national junior Professional Golfers Association (PGA) championship and the IMG Academy World Championship.

The Huskies’ spring schedule features BIG Ten and PAC-12 opponents. On March 30, NIU will head to San Francisco for the Goodwin hosted by Stanford University. NIU will cap off the season in Columbus to compete against Ohio State University in the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. 

NIU’s first tournament is Monday and Tuesday in Springfield, Mo. The Huskies will take on Missouri State University in the Missouri State Intercollegiate.