HENDERSON, Nev. – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team opened its spring season with a second-place finish at the Lake Las Vegas Invitational after three rounds at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada.
 
"Our preparation was spot on," said NIU head coach John Carlson. "We had two practice trips to get ready for competition. Our guys all competed hard this week and everyone contributed to a second-place finish against a strong field. You have to build momentum as you go through the spring, and we started this week as well as we've started any spring at NIU [since I've been here]. These guys will build off it."
 
Behind an opening round score of six-under par 66 from senior Felix Krammer (Waakirchen, Germany) – the best round of the tournament for any NIU player - the Huskies opened the tournament with a team round of 279 to settle into second place, just two strokes behind a Long Beach State team ranked 39th in the nation. Krammer birdied five holes on the front nine of the par 72, 7,261-yard Gold Course and had an eagle on the par 5, 596-yard 12th hole to highlight his round.  
 
In addition to Krammer, freshman Beau Petersen (Gretna, Neb./Gretna HS) and sophomore Craig Long (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton HS) came in under par for NIU on Monday with rounds of 70 and 71, respectively. Petersen's round included an eagle on the par four fourth hole. Senior Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport HS) added an even-par 72.
 
"[Felix] started the momentum in a positive direction for our team," Carlson said. "It's a testament to how well he has played throughout the year, including this fall. His leadership on and off the golf course was evident along with Ben Sluzas. We leaned on both of those guys to get us started in the right direction with this tournament."
 
In Tuesday's second round, Sluzas, Krammer and Long all came in at even par while freshman Patrick Raupp (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect HS) posted NIU's low round of the day, a bogey-free three-under 69. NIU retained its spot in second place with a team score of three-under 285.
 
"Patrick Raupp was in our line-up when we won at Wisconsin and at the Bahamas [in the fall], so it was good to see him come out this spring and play well," Carlson said. "He had an opportunity to shoot under par each of the three rounds."
 
On Wednesday, NIU held off a charge by West Virginia to secure a runner-up finish behind Long Beach State. The Huskies' 291 team score in the final round put left NIU one stroke ahead of the Mountaineers and two strokes in front of fourth place Stetson in the 15-team field.
 
Long led NIU over the final 18 as he shot two-under par 70 to record the only sub-par round of the day for the Huskies. Raupp finished at one-over 73, with Krammer and Petersen each carding a two-over 74.
 
"[Wednesday] We got off to a hot start and as we turned to the back nine, the wind picked up and was gusting at 20-25 miles per hour which made the back nine much more difficult than it had played the first two days," Carlson said. "When the conditions get difficult, you have to rise up and be tough and we will. It was a good experience for our freshmen and Craig today to play a round of golf that was difficult to finish.  I'm proud of the effort and the execution."
 
Krammer's 54-hole total of four-under par 212 left him tied for 12th with Long one stroke back in a tie for 17th.  Petersen and Raupp each finished at three-over 219 for the tournament and Sluzas was two strokes back at five-over 221. NIU's Pattanan Bruminhent, playing as an individual, shot 12-over 228 with his best round an even par 72 on Monday.
 
NIU is next in action at the GCU Invitational in Phoenix, Arizona on March 11-12. 
 
-- NIU --
 
Twitter: @NIUAthletics
Facebook: NIU Huskies
Instagram: niuhuskies
YouTube: NIU Athletics Official