Junior Andy Skillman breezed through some of the easiest rounds of golf he's ever played. After holing out for eagle on the 5th hole at the Delaware County Country Club in Ball State University's annual Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational, Skillman set his sights on a record-breaking performance. Skillman ended the day shooting a Ball State record 64, breaking teammate Patrick Wilkes-Krier's 65 record set the previous day.
Skillman felt satisfied with his record-breaking performance, yet the feeling and the record would not last long enough.
Denger said the duel between him and Skillman helped push the team toward the win.
"It was interesting because I'd turn around and see [Skillman] hit a birdie and I knew I would have to do the same to keep up," Denger said. "The fact that I wasn't worried just about my score but the team score made it all there for me today."
Skillman finished with a team-low 207 score for all three rounds, finishing tied for fifth overall at 3-under. Denger and senior Brandon Boomsma finished with 210, tied for ninth at even-par.
Ball State was down five strokes to Austin Peay after the 12th hole and for the second straight day the Cardinals recovered to take the lead away. Austin Peay's Chris Barron won the event shooting 10-under for the three rounds of the tournament
The Cardinal's broke two team records by finishing 16-under par, breaking the school record for a 54-hole tournament with an 824 score (278, 275, 271), and shooting a record 271 in 18 holes. Wilkes-Krier said the depth on the team finally showed their strength.
"Our depth definitely came through for us today because all five of us played well at some point during the tournament," he said. "We came into this tournament real relaxed and coach told us to go out and have some fun and it just happened."
The tournament was the first win for the Cardinals since the 2003 spring season at Wright State. Ball State finished third at last year's Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational where junior C.D. Hockersmith took home the individual champion honors. After finishing close but never winning for two years, Skillman said the win quenched the team's thirst.
"We needed this today because we all knew we could play well but we hadn't been able to put it together," Skillman said. "We know we can win and now we've proved it to ourselves and that makes it a little easier."
Coach Mike Fleck, who picked up his eighth career tournament win, said the win should push his team even harder.
"It's challenging at our level to come out and win tournaments and now the guys know we're capable of doing it and that should carry over this fall and into spring," Fleck said.
Invitational namesake Earl Yestingsmeier, who coached the Cardinals from 1962 until his retirement in 1998, was impressed by the outing Ball State made.
"I've said it from the beginning of the season that this is the best talent Ball State has had," Yestingsmeier said. "These are five guys who contribute totally to the team and hopefully today's win will get us over the hump."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
