GOODYEAR, AZ – Senior Michael Mattas (Streamwood, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) of the Northern Illinois University men's golf team recorded a career-best 66 on Monday to finish the Loyola Intercollegiate at Palm Valley Golf Club in a tie for fourth place.
 
"When we look back, we were nine holes away from contending for a team title," said head coach John Carlson. "We struggled to finish Saturday in the windy and rainy conditions. Overall, we were third on the week in team birdies and played the par-fives really well which helped us improve over the last two days. We showed a lot of resilience to finish this tournament strong."
 
Mattas was under par in all three rounds of the tournament with a one-under par 71 on Saturday and a two-under 70 on Sunday. The senior moved five spots up the leaderboard Monday with a bogey-free round of 66, with four birdies and an eagle, for his best round as a Huskie. His previous best was a 68 in the second round of the 2017 Northern Intercollegiate. Mattas finished the tournament with a 54-hole score of nine-under par 207, two strokes behind the individual champion Roberto Nieves of Delaware, for his best career finish and 54-hole score.
 
"Mike certainly had the best week of his collegiate career," Carlson said. "Our team relied on him this week and he came through. His round today propelled us to one of the best rounds we've had all year."
 
All four Huskies that scored for NIU Monday went under par in the final round. Luc Warnock (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/E.J. Lajeunesse) had his best round of the season with a three-under par 69 to finish the tournament in a tie for 46^th at three-over. After a pair of two-over par 74s, Jordan Less (Elmhurst, Ill./York) carded a two-under par 70 in the final round to get him into a tie for 34^th at two-over par. Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) had a one-under par 71 Monday to finish the tournament tied for 63^rd at five-over par.
 
NIU improved by 23 strokes from Saturday's first round to Monday's final round. The Huskies' 12-under par 276 was the second-best team score on Monday and NIU's lowest 18-hole team score of the season.  NIU finished the tournament with an even par 864, moving up two spots on the leaderboard Monday to take 10^th place.
 
The Huskies' next competition will be at the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular March 14-15, hosted by George Mason at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla.
 
--NIU--


Round Two Recap
GOODYEAR, AZ – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team improved by 10 strokes Sunday in the second round of the Loyola Intercollegiate, hosted by Loyola University Maryland at Palm Valley Golf Club, and finished the day tied for 12^th place.

NIU had a team score of one-over par 289 in the second round. The Huskies are tied with Delaware for 12th place at 12-over par, three strokes behind Xavier for 11th place. Drake leads the tournament after 36 holes at -8, one stroke ahead of Loyola Marymount.

For the second straight round, Michael Mattas (Streamwood, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) was NIU's low scorer. Mattas carded five birdies Sunday on his way to a two-under par 70. The senior is tied for ninth at three-under par, three strokes behind the leaders. Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central), Luc Warnock (Windsor, Ontario/E.J. Lajeunesse) and Russell Matos (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard South) each had rounds of one-over 73 Sunday. Matos improved by 11 strokes over his opening round with Dunsire and Warnock improving by four strokes. Jordan Less (Elmhurst, Ill./York) posted a two-over 74 for the second consecutive round.

The final round of the tournament starts Monday morning at 9:45 a.m.

Round One Recap
GOODYEAR, AZ – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team finished the first round of the Loyola Intercollegiate, hosted by Loyola University Maryland at Palm Valley Golf Club, Saturday tied for 12^th place.
 
Michael Mattas (Streamwood, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) was the Huskies' low scorer on Saturday, battling rainy and windy conditions to card a one-under par 71 to put him in a tie for ninth. Jordan Less (Elmhurst, Ill./York) had a two-over 74 in the opening round as Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and Luc Warnock (Windsor, Ontario/E.J. Lajeunesse) both had rounds of 77 to round out the scoring group for NIU.
 
The Huskies finished the opening round at 11-over par, tied with Missouri State and UConn for 12^th place in the 19-team field. Loyola Marymount leads the field at four-under par, two strokes ahead of Drake.
 
Play continues Sunday morning at 9:45 a.m.
 
--NIU--