Expecting better results than the first two matches, Ball State University men's golf coach Mike Fleck was disappointed after day one of the Xavier Invitational held at the Oasis Golf Club in Mason, Ohio.
Before the two-week break, the Cardinals finished seventh at the NCAA Central Regional Preview and thirteenth at the Wolverine Invitational. At that time, Fleck envisioned an improved performance.
"We haven't played as well as far as my expectations go," Fleck said. "Going into this tournament, I thought we would play better. It was a very disappointing day from a team standpoint."
After 36 holes out of a 54-hole tournament, Ball State sits in 14th place. Austin Peay State University leads the way with a combined score of 274. Host team Xavier University is two strokes behind with 276, while the Cardinals hold a score of 291.
Freshman Travis Smith led the Cardinals with a team-low score of 70 (35-35). He is currently tied for 23rd place overall.
"Travis has been a big asset to our team thus far," Fleck said. "It's been big to see what he has done the past five or six weeks. He did a great job for us, but we need to do a better job from our supporting cast to help out the ones that are putting up good numbers."
With emphasis on the word collective, Fleck wishes to see a better effort from the entire team and not just a select few golfers.
"In a tournament like this, realistically, if we get good weather, we should be able to have low round capability," Fleck said. "We don't have guys right now, however, to shoot where we need to be. We need five guys going out and doing their respective part."
Smith, who is four under par, believes the team has the capability to perform better, but said the scores need to be better.
"Teams are a little bit stronger than they have been at the last two tournaments," Smith said. "Some of the teams just came out and played really well. We have played a little worse than the previous matches, but we will get better as the season goes on."
Finding confidence and support won't be hard for the team. C.D. Hockersmith, who shot a 75 (36-39) after yesterday's round, said that the team knows how to fight back.
"We had a mediocre performance, but the guys who struggled hung in there. We just have to go out there and take care of business. Everything else is out of our control," he said. "Andy Skillman struggled at first but fought back with a 73 (40-33). It was neat to see him come back the way he did."
With five seniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen, leadership is going to be critical as the season goes on. Fleck realizes this, and needs the seniors to step up from what they've been doing.
"We have seniors who are playing and starting," Fleck said, "but with no juniors these sophomores are going to be leaders once the seniors leave."
The seniors know this, and have been looking over the sophomores since the season began.
"Our team is pretty close," Hockersmith said. "We hang outside of golf and the seniors have really good leadership. We just try and make sure everyone is doing the right thing."
With 18 holes left in today's second round, the Cardinals are expecting the best.
"It wasn't that we played poorly, but the fact that we weren't able to meet the other teams' performances," Fleck said. "It's hard to tell where we will end up, but we need competitive numbers and we need a collective effort to be where we want to be. Right now, unfortunately, we don't have a player that can go out and shoot a 65."
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