After recording its best finish of the season last weekend, the men's golf team looks to continue its momentum at Ohio State's Robert Kepler Invitational this weekend.
"We just need to continue to try and put our best effort forward," head coach Mike Fleck said. "We got to try and maintain momentum."
The Cardinals finished in second place last weekend at the First Energy Intercollegiate at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
Nine Mid-American Conference schools and seven Big Ten schools will participate in the tournament Saturday and Sunday.
Although Fleck did say this is one of the team's premier district events, he added it's just the next tournament and not different than any others.
The same players who traveled with the team last weekend will play in this tournament. Sophomore Wayne Denger will lead the group of five, with junior Patrick Wilkes-Krier, senior Bud Graessle and sophomores Andy Skillman and C.D. Hockersmith completing the lineup.
Denger has led the team in all but the first tournament of the season. At Akron he tied for first place but eventually lost the playoff.
"Wayne has a very strong work ethic and a very high commitment level," Fleck said. "This is something that Wayne's worked hard for."
Skillman saw his first action of the spring last weekend at Firestone, and Fleck said he handled that really well.
"I've challenged him over the last few qualifying rounds," he said. "He really did a great job for us over in Akron this past weekend."
Graessle, one of two seniors on the team, had an up-and-down start to his season but recently has been able to play consistently.
In the team's last two tournaments, he finished as the Cardinals third man. In the first round of the Marshall Invitational three weeks ago, he fired a career-low 69. Graessle said he, and the rest of the team, has focused on the mental part of his game.
"It's mostly mental right now," Graessle said. "We've all played enough golf. You can only hit so many balls, but when it comes down to it's just whether we execute or not."
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