In its final tournament before the Mid-American Conference championships May 2-4, the men's golf team finished ninth of 18 teams at the First Energy Collegiate Saturday and Sunday.
The Cardinals shot 900 in three rounds, 31 strokes behind the winner Toledo. They finished fifth out of the 8 MAC teams in the tournament behind Toledo, Kent State, Miami and Bowling Green.
This was the third-consecutive tournament that Toledo won. It is also the second-straight tournament head coach Mike Fleck called disappointing.
"This weekend was a struggle," Fleck said. "We got out of the gate decently, but the tournament was a disappointment overall."
One bright spot for the team was the play of junior Kenny Cook. Cook was Ball State's top finisher for the second-straight tournament, tying for fifth place in the 92-person field. He shot a 72 all three rounds for a total of 217.
"I can't say enough about what Kenny has done this season," Fleck said. "He continues to be productive. His physical ability is going to set him up for good things in the MAC Championships."
Fleck said he was also happy with the performances of senior co-captain Nathan Vannatter and junior Brian Lassitter. Vannatter tied for 26th and Lassitter tied for 47th in the tournament.
One player who hasn't played well this spring and continued to disappoint at the First Energy Collegiate is senior co-captain Dan Witt. After consistently being the top finisher for Ball State in the fall, Witt has has finished last or second to last on the team in the past three events.
"Dan hasn't shown up the past few tournaments," Fleck said. "I told him we need him to show up for us to do well at the MACs."
Although Fleck and the team were not happy with its placing, Fleck said he was happy with how the team ended the tournament. The Cardinals shot a 296 in the third round, their lowest of the three rounds.
"I was pleased with how we finished the third round," Fleck said. "That's one thing that was really positive that we can take away from this event. We hung in there and gutted it out at the end."
The team now has nine days before it leaves for MAC Championships in Westerville, Ohio, on Wednesday.
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