Led by a season high fifth-place finish from freshman Devin Swoyer, NIU men’s golf secured a sixth-place finish at the Purdue Fall Invitational Tuesday in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Following an 11th place finish in a field of 13 teams at the Jim DeLapa Collegiate Sept. 29, the Huskies bounced back and recorded a team score of 875, 11 over par. As a result, NIU finished one place ahead of Southern Illinois University and one place behind the University of Nebraska.
The Huskies had a rocky start, accumulating 300 strokes in the first round, before improving to 293 strokes in the second round. NIU carried its momentum into the third round, tallying 282 strokes – finishing only behind the tournament’s champion and runner-up.
“This tournament showed the true character of the team,” said NIU men’s golf head coach John Carlson. “Devin was outstanding, we had 19 birdies and fought back for sixth place, it really speaks volumes.”
Spurring Swoyer’s top-five finish, he carded a score of 72 in the first round, even par. In the second round, he shot for 71 before closing out with 70 in the third totaling a 213 stroke performance for the tournament and a three-way tie for fifth.
Junior Craig Long was the Huskies’ second-best golfer, finishing in 23rd place. After struggling in the first two rounds, Long carded his tournament-best score in the third round, logging 68 strokes for a 219, 3 over par, finish.
Finishing as the Huskies’ third-best golfer, sophomore Patrick Raupp also started off cold, leading to a 37th place finish. Raupp scored 78 and 75 in the first two rounds going 9 over par before rebounding in the last frame with 70, 2 under par, for a 37th place finish.
Sophomores Connor McCall and Jack Mulligan rounded out the Huskies performance with 49th and 54th placements. After going even in the second round, McCall’s third round performance set him back to 9 over par, 225.
Although Mulligan ended the invitational with a 227, 11 over par, the Burr Ridge native settled into the game after a 6 over par performance in the first round and finished with a combined 5 over par in the following rounds, contributing to the Huskies’ 6th place overall finish.
“We dug ourselves in a hole in the beginning that was challenging but did great to rebound.” Carlson added. “This competitiveness today was needed against so many top teams from the Midwest.”
UP NEXT
NIU looks to continue the momentum on Oct. 19 at the Quail Valley Collegiate in Vero Beach, Florida.
“Our next field in Florida looks to be one of the toughest this season but our fight today proved we’re capable of hanging with the rest,” Carlson said.
