Men's Golf | May 2

ATHENS, Ala. - The Northern Illinois University men's golf team survived a charge from the Ball State Cardinals Tuesday to claim its first Mid-American Conference Championship title in almost 40 years, winning by four strokes at Canebrake Golf Club to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals.
 
"The tension out there was palpable," said head coach John Carlson after Tuesday's victory. "Everyone knew where they were at and it came down to us and Ball State in the final five holes. We grinded this one out today and showed our grit after playing in sustained 30 mile per hour winds. We put ourselves in position from hole one to the final putt to bring this trophy home. All of our guys picked up for each other all season and we needed all five in the lineup this week."
 
NIU opened the day with a seven-stroke lead over Ball State. The Cardinals were red hot at the start, going seven-under through four holes to get within one shot of the Huskies who were one-under on the day in that same stretch. Ball State took the lead at five-under par on a Joey Ranieri eagle at the par-four sixth and back-to-back birdies from Ali Khan at holes six and seven.
NIU took advantage of a Zach Place (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) eagle at the sixth, his fourth eagle of the tournament, and some Ball State bogeys to re-gain the tournament lead at five-under, one stroke ahead of the Cardinals. The Huskies got to seven-under par before some bogeys put NIU and Ball State tied at even par at the start of the back nine.
 
"There were some drivable holes on the front, so I had a lot of chances to score," said Place, who played the front nine at four-under par in the final two rounds. "I got a couple breaks and hit some greens in regulation. I took full advantage of how scoreable it was on the front."
 
Ball State started the back nine three bogeys and a triple bogey to fall back to three-over par. Kent State put itself in the mix by getting the three-over as well. All the while, NIU stayed at even par with what was, at the time, a three-stroke advantage. The Huskies led the Cardinals and Golden Flashes by as much as four on the back nine. Ball State closed within one late in the round, but NIU extended the lead to three when Ian Bruchhauser (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) made a birdie on the par-five 18^th while Khan posted a double-bogey. Tommy Dunsire (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) put the finishing touch on NIU's team title, making a birdie with a long putt on 18 to lock up the four-stroke victory.
 
Place was NIU's top finisher in the tournament, tying for fifth place with an even-par score of 216 and earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Campbell Wolf (Mechanicsburg, Pa./ETSU) was ninth with a two-over par 218. Dunsire finished tied for 10^th at three-over par.
"It was another tremendous MAC performance for Zach," Carlson said. "He rises up to the occasion and plays his best golf under the most pressure, and I know he'll do that at NCAA Regionals."
 
The Huskies got a lift on Tuesday from sophomore Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) who had his best round of the week with a one-under par 71, which moved him 11 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 13^th. Bruchhauser also had his best round of the tournament in the final round with a two-over par 74, playing the final nine at a team-best one-over par.
 
"Ben was due for a big round having played some of the best golf of his career the last two weeks at Iowa and Ohio State," said Carlson. "You could see the look in his eye when he birdied the first two holes that he was going to shoot under par. Ian dug deep and gave us a counting score when we needed it."
 
Carlson was named the Kermit Blosser Coach of the Year after the tournament in guiding NIU to it's first MAC title since 1985. In the Huskies three tournaments with Carlson at the helm, NIU has finished second, tied for third and now first. NIU will make it's second appearance in the NCAA Tournament by earning the MAC's automatic bid. The Huskies' only other NCAA appearance came in 1976.
 
The 2023 NCAA Men's Golf Championship selection show will be televised on Golf Channel tomorrow, Wednesday, May 3 at 12 p.m. CT. The regionals take place May 15-17.
 
--NIU--