Men's Golf | April 14

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Led by a top-10 finish by junior Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport), the Northern Illinois University golf tied for eighth place at this weekend's Hawkeye Invitational hosted by Iowa at Finkbine Golf Course.

"It was good to see our team finish under par for 54 holes," said head coach John Carlson. "That starts with Ben finishing tied for sixth, following up a strong finish last year at Iowa with another great performance this week. All five guys in our lineup contributed, which was good to see and it gives us some momentum going into Ohio State this week."

Sluzas went under par twice in the three rounds. He opened play Saturday morning with a four-under par 67, making five birdies and an eagle at the par-five second hole. In his second round, the junior posted a two-over 73 which put him tied for ninth at two-under par going into Sunday's final round. Sluzas made six birdies in the final round on his way to a three-under par 68. With a 54-hole score of five-under par 208 Sluzas tied for sixth, just one stroke behind Kansas City's Lucas Dutartre and Zach Little of Central Arkansas who tied for third at six-under.

"Ben's familiarity with the golf course helped him to another top-10 finish here," Carlson said. "He also hit the driver well which helped him take advantage of the three par-fives out there. We led the field in par-five scoring this week and Ben certainly contributed to that.

NIU's best team score of the weekend came in the first round. Three Huskies went under par Saturday morning led by Sluzas' 67. Felix Krammer (Waakirchen, Germany/Arkansas State) made six birdies in his round of two-under 69. Freshman Craig Long (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) carded a one-under par round of 70. Ian Bruchhauser (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) rounded out the scoring group with a one-over par 72. NIU was six-under par after the first 18 holes and in third place going into Friday's second round.

The Huskies dropped back to eighth Friday afternoon after an eight-over par 292. Krammer and Bruchhauser both led NIU with one-over par rounds of 72. NIU bounced back on Sunday with a three-under par round of 281. Bruchhauser tied his best round of the season with a 69 in the final round, finishing the tournament tied for 21st at even par.

"It was big for our team that Ian stepped up," said Carlson. "He was consistent and drove the ball well. His short game is world class. Anytime you can post a number under par in the final round is going to be big bonus for this team."

Krammer shot a 72 to also tie for 21st at even par. Zach Place (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) was in the scoring group on Sunday with a one-over par 72.

NIU tied with South Dakota State for eighth place at one-under par for the tournament, one stroke behind seventh-place Nebraska. It's the third time this season the Huskies have finished under par and the first this spring. NIU led the field in par-five scoring at 29-under par for the weekend.

Wisconsin won the tournament by five strokes over TCU and Southern Illinois.

The Huskies play their final tournament before the Mid-American Conference Championship next weekend at Ohio State's Robert Kepler Intercollegiate April 19-21.

—NIU—