Men's Golf | May 1
NAPERVILLE, IL - The Northern Illinois University men's golf team saved it's best round of the weekend for the final round of the 2022 Mid-American Conference Men's Golf Championship at White Eagle Golf Club, finishing in a tie for third place with Bowling Green.
"We drove the ball better today on holes that we needed to, and made putts under pressure like a championship team would," said John Carlson following Sunday's final round. "Today was a great way to finish off a season with two seniors, Michael Cascino and Reece Nilsen, getting a send-off into their professional careers in a great way."
The Huskies had a team score of five-over par 293 on Sunday, an improvement of 10 strokes from Saturday. NIU moved up two spots on the leaderboard in the final round to finish with a team score of 32-over par 896. Kent State won its sixth consecutive MAC Championship, passing Toledo on Sunday to win by four strokes with a team score of +17.
Senior Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) was the Huskies' low scorer in the final round, carding a one-under par 71. He was the lone NIU player to shoot under par for the weekend. Dunsire made five birdies on the day, including four in his last eight holes. He improved by six shots from his round on Saturday, finishing the tournament tied for 15th with a 54-hole score of +10 226.
"Tommy showed a lot of resiliency this week," Carlson said. "He drove the ball very solidly and he's gong to have a lot of momentum going into his summer campaign. We're looking for him to lead this team on and off the golf course next year."
Junior Zach Place (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) led NIU for the weekend, tying for seventh place with a 54-hole tally of 223, seven-over par. Place was one of three Huskies to post a score of two-over 74 on Sunday, an improvement of three strokes from his round of 77 on Saturday. This is his second top-15 finish at the MAC Championship, tying for 13th in 2021 at Sycamore Hills.
"Zach has come along way in three years at NIU," said Carlson. "His length off the tee is now equaled by his precision and his iron play. I'm really proud of the way he's played these last two weeks to carry our team."
Reece Nilsen (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills/Grand Canyon) and Michael Cascino (Palos Park, Ill./Providence Catholic/Butler) wrapped up their NIU careers on Sunday with rounds of 74, rounding out the NIU scoring group. Nilsen bookended his tournament with a second 74, posting that score in Friday's opening round as well. He finished tied for 12th at +9. Cascino carded a 74 for the second consecutive day, finishing the championship in a tie for 28th at +14. He played his final 36 holes at four-over par. Freshman Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) finished the MAC Championship tied for 19th at +11 after a round of 76 on Sunday.
Kent State's Josh Gilkison won the individual MAC title in a playoff with Toledo's Jamie Tofte Nielsen and Jack Ebner of Miami. All three players finished the tournament with a 54-hole score of one-over par 217.
—NIU—
