After two days of golf at the Jim DeLapa Collegiate, hosted by Central Michigan University, NIU men’s golf finished 11th in a field of 13 teams. With a team score of 849, nine-over par, the Huskies finished only above CMU and Chicago State University.
The Huskies peaked in the first round, posting 280 strokes as a team. NIU proceeded to card team scores of 283 in the second round and 286 in the third round.
“We played really solid golf this week, but we just got beat by better teams,” said NIU men’s golf head coach John Carlson via NIU Athletics. “There were eight teams in the field that are perennially in the NCAA Regionals. This field will continue to get better because this course was the longtime host of the Western Amateur.”
Sophomore Jack Mulligan led the pack, finishing in 19th place and totaling an even-par 210 strokes. Mulligan went four over par in the first round, which he canceled out with four under par in the second round. Mulligan exited the tournament at even par in the third round.
Junior Craig Long, the reigning champion of the Badger Invitational, was the Huskies’ second-leading golfer finishing in 24th place. Long finished one under par in both the first and third rounds, but a three-over-par score in the second round limited his final performance.
Sophomore Patrick Raupp was NIU’s third-best golfer, logging a 34th-place finish. After strong performances in the first and second rounds, Raupp was plagued by a six-over-par performance in the third round.
Coming in fourth in the Huskies’ lineup, freshman Devin Swoyer took 47th. Swoyer got off to a sluggish start before finding his tournament-best score of one over par in the third round.
Sophomores Conner McCall and Beau Petersen, who competed as an individual, finished in 60th and 61st respectively. McCall ended the tournament accumulating 223 strokes, 13 over par, while Peterson ended with a 224.
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“Our season will be defined by how good our off days are,” said Carlson via NIU Athletics. “That is both from a shot-to-shot basis and by team score. Having to count a six-over today really changes your team score when the other three scores added up to even par. We had three guys play real solid golf this week, but at the Division I level you need all five players to be consistent.”
The Huskies return to action on Oct. 13 at the Purdue Fall Invitational in West Lafayette, Indiana.
