Men’s golf will look to end its season on a high note with a strong finish at the MAC Championships.

The Huskies will begin the MAC Championships Friday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. The tournament, hosted by Toledo, will conclude Sunday.

The expected lineup for the Huskies will be junior Liam White and freshmen Caulen Coe, Raphael Denais, Pierrick Fillon and Jake Curwin. Head coach Tom Porten said despite fielding the youngest lineup in the conference, he isn’t worried about the players’ lack of experience.

“This lineup has really gone through a baptism, starting back at Augusta [March 1],” Porten said. “They’re ready for the opportunity and excited.

“The only concern I have is no one having conference championship experience. There might be some jitters on the first few holes.”

The Huskies have faced every MAC team except for Bowling Green, which gives them a sense of what level they’ll need to play at to have a high finish.

NIU is coming off its best tournament of the season in the April 20 Boilermaker Invitational. The Huskies finished tied for 12th of 15 teams. Curwin ended the tournament tied for 16th with a card of 220 (76, 70, 74).

Porten said the Huskies’ performance at the Boilermaker Invitational could be a sign of things to come, especially in terms of the team’s performance on the greens.

“We’re in a great frame of mind right now,” Porten said. “We’re looking forward to playing our game this weekend.”

Putting has been a problem for the Huskies all season, with no player able to putt consistently.

“We’ve been getting really strong hitting off the tee and [hitting] onto the greens,” Porten said. “That changed at Purdue. Curwin and White led in scoring and putting.”

White was second on the Huskies at the invitational with a card off 221 (72, 76, 73). He was tied for 22nd, just one stroke behind Curwin.

While White and Curwin have improved their putting game in tournaments, Porten said the rest of the team has seen improvement in practice.

“[Denais and Fillon] have been doing a lot of lag drills,” Porten said. “They’ve been going through those a lot faster. It’s built up confidence in them, and I feel more confident in them, as well.”

One advantage for the Huskies is no teams have seen the course on which the MAC Championship will be played. This puts the inexperienced Huskies on a level playing field.

Kent State, the reigning MAC Champions, hasn’t won a tournament this season, but the Golden Flashes have maintained consistent scores.