Men's Golf | April 30

NAPERVILLE, IL - The Northern Illinois University men's golf team tallied a second-round score of 303 and enter Sunday's final round of the Mid-American Conference Men's Golf Championship in fifth place at the tournament being played at White Eagle Golf Club in Naperville. Senior Michael Cascino (Palos Park, Ill./Providence Catholic/Butler) and freshman Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) led the way for the Huskies with rounds of 74 and 75, respectively.

Although tee times were moved up by more than three hours in an effort to avoid inclement weather, rain fell through the first two-and-a-half hours of play and play was suspended for approximately 30 minutes in the morning. Scores reflected the conditions as no golfer shot in the field shot under par on Saturday and only one team – Bowling Green – recorded a team score below 300 on the day.

The Huskies' 36-hole score of 603 puts them one stroke behind Bowling Green for fourth place and five strokes shy of third-place Eastern Michigan (598). Toledo (595) leads the tournament by one stroke over Kent State (596) with six teams, including sixth place Miami (607) within 12 strokes of the lead. The Huskies will be paired with Miami for Sunday's final round, starting from the #10 tee at 8 a.m.

"We definitely know starting on the back nine presents more of an opportunity for birdies right away and get our team score under par to start," said head coach John Carlson. "I feel that we could get off to a much stronger start from there than you normally can from a tougher front nine here at White Eagle."

Cascino rebounded from a first round 82 for his two-over par round of 74 on Saturday, while Sluzas' 75 moved him into a tie for 10th place at seven-over par 151 along with teammate Reece Nilsen (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills/Grand Canyon) who added a 77 to his first round 74.

"Michael is a true competitor," Carlson said. "His play today was more indicative of the type of player he is. A two-over par 74 today was really solid golf in heavy winds. I know he'll come out and play great tomorrow."

Junior Zach Place (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) continues to lead the Huskies overall as he is tied for seventh at five-over 149 after shooting a 77 on Saturday. Senior Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) also shot 77 for the Huskies Saturday and is tied for 23rd at 11-over 155.

Tee times for Sunday's final round at White Eagle Golf Club begin at 8 a.m. (CT) with a berth in the NCAA Men's Golf Regionals on the line for the winning team.  Live coverage of select holes, including nine and 18, is available for free online at NIUHuskies.com. Follow live scores at Golfstat.com.

—NIU—