Men's Golf | October 14

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team bounced back from a tough first round to finish sixth at the Purdue Fall Invitational Tuesday at Kampen-Cosler Golf Course.
 
"We certainly turned it on starting with our second round yesterday," said head coach John Carlson. "Our final 36 holes are representative of the type of team that I know we have. I urged them last night that we needed all five guys in the game when it comes to the back nine today and we did just that with the 14 birdies we had on the front."
 
Redshirt-Freshman Devin Swoyer (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) had NIU's low rounds in the first two rounds on Monday, with an even par 72 in the opening round and a one-under par 71 in the afternoon. Swoyer posted a two-under par 70 on Tuesday, starting his round with four birdies on the front nine. He finished tied for fifth with a 54-hole score of three-under par 213.
 
"Devin put himself in contention to win the event, and to get yourself in that position is difficult," Carlson said. "He's going to continue to learn through all those times. Devin played a really good round of golf today and minimized the damage when he was out of position to make bogey. I'm so proud to see the way that he has energized this team from a scoring aspect in his first three starts."
 
The Huskies improved by seven strokes from round one to round two Monday. The Huskies posted a five-over par 293. Sophomore Conner McCall (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) had the highlight of the round with an eagle on the par-four 15^th as he carded an even par 72.
 
NIU posted its second-lowest single round team score this season on Tuesday with a six-under par 282. It was the third-lowest score of the day behind Purdue and Butler who finished first and second respectively. Craig Long (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) led the Huskies on Tuesday with a 68, carding six birdies. Swoyer and Patrick Raupp (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) both had rounds of 70 as Jack Mulligan (Burr Ridge, Ill./Hinsdale Central) rounded out the scoring group with a two-over 74.
 
Long moved up 27 places on the leaderboard on Tuesday, tying for 23^rd with a 54-hole score of three-over par 219. Raupp climbed 18 places into a tie for 38^th at seven-over par.
 
NIU finished with a team score of 11-over par 875, three strokes behind Nebraska for fifth. The Huskies were tops among the four Mid-American Conference teams in the field as Toledo placed eighth, Ball State 10th and Ohio in 12^th.
 
"We're riding momentum right now," said Carlson. "I'm confident that the five guys we select to go to Quail Valley are going to be ready to compete just like we did these final 36 holes. It's always fun as a coach to see that momentum build especially with the young team we have. We have our sights set on big goals and those include beating some of the top nationally-ranked teams."
 
NIU closes out its fall season Oct. 19-20 at the Quail Valley Collegiate at Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach, Fla.
 
--NIU--
 
NIU Individual Results
T-5: Devin Swoyer         72-71-70=213 (-3)
T-23: Craig Long             75-76-68=219 (+3)
T-37: Patrick Raupp    78-75-70=223 (+7)
T-49: Conner McCall  75-72-77=224 (+8)
T-54: Jack Mulligan      78-75-74=227 (+11)
 
Purdue Fall Individual (Par 71)
T-3: Corentin Guilloux                71-74=145 (+3)
23: Stuart Nesbitt                      79-80=159 (+14)