The Cardinals head to Fishers, Ind., today to begin play in the MAC Championships, and though it will be senior Kirsty O'Connor's last meet for Ball State, she'll have plenty of opportunities to keep up with the team next year when she becomes the graduate assistant for the University of Akron women's golf team.
In their last event before the Mid-American Conference Championships, the Ball State University men's golf team placed ninth of 12 teams in the Crooked Stick Invitational in Carmel, Ind., Tuesday afternoon.
Ball State University is in ninth place out of 12 teams after two rounds in the Crooked Stick Invitational hosted by Indiana University in Carmel.
Ball State hopes for a strong performance after taking a step back in last week's Missouri Intercollegiate. The Cardinals placed eighth as a team out of 15 schools and didn't have an individual crack the top 15. Freshman Tony Lazzara was Ball State's top performer, tying for 20th place.
Ball State came up short this weekend, finishing in ninth place in the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington.
Ball State, which is coming off a second-place showing in last week's Hoosier Invitational, could have a realistic chance to come away as team champions. Of the 15 schools participating, none are ranked or receiving votes in the most recent Golf World/Nike Men's Division I Coaches Top-25 Poll.
Ball State University is tied for eighth place at the Mizzou Intercollegiate after two rounds of play.
Ball State is led this season by junior Brittany Kelly. She has a team best 75.36 scoring average and has tallied six top-10 finishes this year.
Ball State University didn't quite show the consistency this weekend that coach Mike Fleck would have liked, but the Cardinals still played well enough to finish in second place out of 19 teams in the Hoosier Invitational hosted by Indiana University.
Junior Eric Steger, the Cardinals' top golfer, was disqualified after signing an incorrect scorecard following the first of two rounds Saturday. Last season, when Ball State won the same event as a team, Steger finished in third place individually.
Ball State's team won't be the only one looking for a repeat in the event. Last season, as an individual, junior Anthony Novak earned medalist honors in the Cardinal Collegiate, carding a 144. Fellow junior Eric Steger counted as the best Ball State team finisher in the tournament, finishing in third place with a 146.
The Ball State University women's golf team is keeping their spring season consistent, finishing another tournament in sixth place.
Ball State University is in fifth place at the John Kirk/Panther Intercollegiate tournament after the first round Monday.
Ball State coach Katherine Mowat said that simply getting an invite to the tournament in Stockbridge, Ga., was an honor. Host Georgia State University, Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Xavier University are among the teams that will be competing in the tournament.
Junior Brittany Kelly of the women's golf team was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week on Monday for her performance in the team's two tournaments over Spring Break.
The next tournament for the team will be the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate in Stockbridge, Ga., on March 22-23. The small break will give the team some much-needed rest after competing in back-to-back tournaments this week.
Tied for third place with the University of Missouri, Ball State set a school record by shooting a combined 289 in the first round. The record was the best 18-hole team score in Ball State history. This record beats the previous one of 294 set three years ago during the 2007-08 Mid-American Conference Preview in Speedway, Ind.
Even though Ball State finished in sixth place overall, the Cardinals fared better than five other MAC teams. Western Michigan University finished in ninth, the University of Toledo placed 13th, Ohio University placed in 16th, the University of Akron finished in 17th while Bowling Green State University placed last.
