Men's Golf | May 5

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. – The Northern Illinois University men's golf team posted the lowest team score in Tuesday's final round of the Mid-American Conference Men's Golf Championship held at The Club at Holliday Farms, finishing in second place.
 
The Huskies had a team score of 294 on Tuesday, their lowest round of the week. NIU entered the day eight strokes behind second-place Miami and nine back of the leaders Eastern Michigan. The RedHawks passed the Eagles early in the round with the Huskies following suit. NIU got as close as five strokes on the back nine, playing the first six holes at a combined four-under par. That was as close as the Huskies would get. NIU did not card a birdie on the final three holes and finished seven strokes behind the champions Miami with a team score of 887 to the RedHawks' 880.
 
"It was a valiant effort from our team today," said head coach John Carlson. "We battled some incredibly hard conditions today with the rain and the course playing about 300 yards longer than it did the last two days. I'm really proud that in the MAC Championships I've coached we have had a chance to win in the final nine holes. That brought back a lot of emotions out of me when we made the charge and that made me proud of them."
 
Patrick Raupp (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) was named to the All-Tournament Team after finishing tied for fifth with a 54-hole score of eight-over par 221. This is the third consecutive MAC Championship where a sophomore was the Huskies' top finisher. Raupp carded a round of 79 on Tuesday.
 
"This was Patrick's best finish as a collegian," Carlson said. "To have it come at the MAC Championship just speaks to where his future can go. He's going to continue to be a leader because he's got prodigious length and talent. The sky's the limit with our sophomore group and moving into the Horizon League next year we'll have a real opportunity to continue this momentum."
 
Redshirt-Freshman Devin Swoyer (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) had NIU's low round on Tuesday with a one-over par 72. It was a four-stroke improvement from his second round and moved him seven spots up the leaderboard. Swoyer made par on 15 holes in the final round. He finished tied for eighth with a 54-hole score of nine-over par 222.
 
Craig Long (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) and Conner McCall (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) also made big moves up the leaderboard in the final round. Long had his best round of the tournament on Tuesday with a two-over par 73, moving up eight spots into 19^th place at +14. McCall also posted a 73 in the final round to move up seven places to 23^rd at +16. Beau Petersen (Gretna, Neb./Gretna) rounded out the Huskies' scoring group on Tuesday with a five-over par 76 that had five birdies on the card. Petersen finished in a tie for 13^th at 11-over par.
 
"This week was a culmination of all the experience that we had under our belts as a team," Carlson added. "We're able now to play difficult golf courses under difficult conditions, and that shows the growth of the team. With everyone returning next year, we're not only going to have experience but more confidence moving forward."
 
This is NIU's fifth top-three finish at the MAC Championship in the last six years. The Huskies now move to the Horizon League for the 2026-27 season.
 
--NIU--