The Ball State men's golf team finished its season successfully, reaching a year-long team goal of finishing in the top three at the Mid-American Conference Championship. The team finished third behind Eastern Michigan and MAC champion Kent State.
"We did a good job," Coach Mike Fleck said. "We played well in the month of April to put us in position to finish for one of those top spots."
The third-place finish was the highest by a Ball State team at the MAC Championship since 1993. The Cardinals also set a new school record by finishing with a 72-hole team score of 1150.
Sophomore C.D. Hockersmith (75-71-71-71) led the team with a 12th place finish. He was closely followed by Ball State's junior Patrick Wilkes-Krier (75-73-70-71) and sophomore Wayne Denger (69-71-79-70), who both tied for 14th place overall and were named to the All-MAC Second Team this season.
"We wouldn't have been able to accomplish what we did this spring without them," Fleck said. "Patrick did not finish outside the top 20 once this spring. For a player to do that with our schedule is pretty impressive."
Sophomore Andy Skillman (72-75-72-76) played well in his first appearance at the MAC Championship, tying for 30th place.
Wilkes-Krier and Denger also picked up honors by joining the All-MAC Academic Team. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests.
"For those two guys to be recognized on the All-MAC Academic Team is an impressive honor," Fleck said. "It not only ties your performance on the course but also their performance in the classroom."
The Cardinals lose two seniors, Bud Graessle and Lance Scholl, to graduation. Graessle finished his season at the MAC Championship with 37th place in the field. The seniors exemplified Ball State golf according to their coach.
"They were great players and good kids who represented our program at the highest level," Fleck said. "They set the foundation for what this program hopes to accomplish over the next few years."
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