Men's Golf | April 17

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Northern Illinois University men's golf team tied for 11th place at this weekend's Hawkeye Invitational, hosted by Iowa at Finkbine Golf Course.

Senior Reece Nilsen (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills/Grand Canyon) was the Huskies' top finisher in the tournament, posting a 54-hole score of five-over par 221. Nilsen carded an even-par 72 in Saturday's morning round, following it up with a one-over 73 in the afternoon to wrap up the day in a tie for 11th. He posted a four-over par 76 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 27th.

Freshman Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) was also tied for 11th with Nilsen after two rounds on Saturday. Sluzas posted a 73 in the morning and followed with NIU's best score in round two, an even-par 72, to keep him at one-over. On Sunday, Sluzas had a round of 77 to finish in a tie for 32nd at +6.

Michael Cascino (Palos Park, Ill./Providence Catholic/Butler) had three consecutive rounds of three-over 75 to tie for 39th with a nine-over par score of 225. Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) opened the weekend with a seven-over 79 Saturday morning. He bounced back with a four-over 76 in round two and led NIU with a one-under par 71 on Sunday. Dunsire finished the tournament tied for 46th at +10, moving 20 spots up the leaderboard in the final round.

"We showed some improvement in our scoring this week in windy conditions up to 25 miles per hour," said head coach John Carlson. "We converted 36 birdies this weekend, twice as many as a week ago at Texas A&M. We were also second in the tournament in par-five scoring. Practice this week will be spent being more consistent off the tee."

NIU finished with a team score of 28-over par 892, tied with Illinois State for 11th. The Huskies were 10-over par in the first and third rounds, with their best round coming in the second with an eight-over 296. Kansas won the tournament at -12, two strokes ahead of the host Hawkeyes.

The Huskies play their final tuneup before the 2022 Mid-American Conference Men's Golf Championship next weekend at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate, hosted by Ohio State at Columbus Country Club April 23-24.

Individual Results
Reece Nilsen: 72-73-76=221 (T-27)
Ben Sluzas: 73-72-77=222 (T-32)
Michael Cascino: 75-75-75=225 (T-39)
Tommy Dunsire: 79-76-71=226 (T-46)
Zach Place: 78-76-76=230 (T-62)
Luke DeHaven: 79-72-75=226 (T-46/Individual)

—NIU—