Men's Golf | September 28

VERONA, Wis. – Led by a second-place finish from senior Reece Nilsen (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills/GCU), the Northern Illinois University men's golf team finished fifth at the Badger Invitational, which wrapped up play Tuesday afternoon at University Ridge Golf Course.
 
"We followed up a strong performance at Erin Hills to start the year with another solid outing at Wisconsin this weekend," said head coach John Carlson. "I'm proud of the way that all five guys in the lineup competed, and Zach Place as an individual had an outstanding result as well. Reece had one of the best individual performances that we've had in recent years. We expected him to contend this week, and he showed it by going toe-to-toe with the field."
 
Nilsen shot under par in all three of his rounds for the week, posting a 54-hole score of six-under par 282. He had an eagle on the par-four 10^th in Sunday's opening round which highlighted a round of two-under par 70. On Monday, Nilsen had his first round under 70 as a Huskie with a three-under par 69. The senior had six birdies on the day, closing his round with birdies at the 16^th and 18^th holes. Nilsen was the lone Huskie under par on Tuesday with a one-under 71. He finished one stroke behind Sam Jean on Cincinnati for medalist honors.
 
"I'd been working on my putting since the summer and I didn't have any three-putts this week," Nilsen said on his performance this weekend. "I kept putting myself in good spots and my speed was good. I was in the same group as Jean so I knew where I stood with him on the leaderboard. I just made a lot of pars down the stretch."
 
NIU's best team round of the tournament came on Monday. After posting a three-over par 291 on Sunday, the Huskies improved by six strokes with a three-under par 285. Freshman Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) had his best round of the season that day with a two-under par 70. Sluzas played the final eight holes at three-under par. Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and Luc Warnock (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/E.J. Lajeunesse) both had one-over par rounds of 73 to round out the scoring group.
 
Dunsire finished the tournament tied for 19^th at one-over par after a final round 72 on Tuesday propelled him five spots up the leaderboard. Sluzas tied for 30^th with a 54-hole score of three-over par 291. Warnock shot 73 for the second straight day on Tuesday to finish the tournament tied for 44^th at six-over par. Zach Place (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park), playing as an individual, tied for 26^th at two-over par.
 
NIU moved up to fifth after starting Tuesday in sixth place. The Huskies finished the tournament with a team score of four over par, one stroke behind the hosts Wisconsin for fourth. NIU finished two shots ahead of sixth-place Iowa State and four clear of seventh-place High Point.
 
"In the first two rounds we had given some shots away from good spots," Carlson said. "We did a much better job chipping the ball today on a much more difficult day conditions-wise. Today was a test for us and our guys' effort and attitude was in the right place and exactly what we wanted to see from them."
 
The Huskies will host the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate this weekend, Oct. 2-4, at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove. Play begins at 9 a.m. on Oct. 2^nd and 3^rd with Monday's final round beginning at 9:30 a.m.
 
--NIU--