SXU Athletics
The end of the fall season is quickly approaching for the men’s golf team, but for them, there isn’t any sort of countdown.
They look at each tournament as a chance to improve their game and get a better idea of what they need to work on.
On Friday, the Cougars hosted the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Fall Preview at the Flossmoor Country Club where they placed fourth out of six teams.
The team has mixed feelings about their finish at the Fall Preview, but since it was only a preview of what is to come this spring, they are remaining positive.
“I know the team isn’t very happy with our finish of our fall invite at Flossmoor Country Club,” said head coach Mike Mandakas, “but the event was more of a preview event in which we will be hosting our conference championship at Flossmoor in April.”
The Cougars had a total score of 320; Trinity Christian College (Ill.) fell short of the Cougars by one point, putting them in fifth place. Roosevelt University (Ill.) finished in sixth place with a score of 329.
Sophomore Robert Lively led his team at the Fall Preview, shooting a 78, which landed him a sixth place tie overall. Freshman Michael Perez and junior Kyle Bahnick tied for 12th place with their scores of 80.
SXU Athletics
With a score of 82, junior Zachary Trent landed 20th place out of a total of 38 golfers. Sophomore Mark Kluk took 30th place after shooting an 85. In the individual competition, Joshua Napoli shot an 89, landing him a tie for 35th place.
The team struggled a little in certain areas but excelled in others.
“The team struggled off the tee. As a team, our tee shots got us out of position which makes it very hard to score well at Flossmoor,” said Mandakas. “The strongest part of the team’s game yesterday was their putting.”
The Cougars were not far behind those who placed ahead of them in terms of score. First place was claimed by the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) for a score of 313. Holy Cross College (Ind.) and Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) tied for third place with a score of 318.
“I felt that we played about the way that we should have,” said Mandakas. “The event was just a preview, so it was just a chance to give the golfers a feel for the golf course in preparation for conference in April.”
The team played at the Tanglewood Golf Center earlier this week on Oct. 6 and 7 for the William Woods Invite in Fulton, Missouri. Prior to heading to that tournament, the team kept their same mindset.
Mandakas said, “The team [had] a quick turnaround as we [traveled] to William Woods University Sunday, but we [used] the tournament as another practice round for our big event at TPC Deere Run next week.”
Next the team travels to Silvis, Illinois, to play the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Midwest Classic. The two-day event will take place on Monday and Tuesday at TPC Deere Run, an 18-hole course.
After the men play in the NAIA Midwest Classic, their fall season is over.
Then the men will begin the spring season in March during spring break.
Alexis Flamburis
Sports Contributor
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