In its third tournament in three straight weeks, the Ball State University men's golf team finished 12th at the 17-team Arizona State University Thunderbird Invitational in Phoenix.
The Cardinals shot a team-combined score of 870 during the Friday and Saturday invitational, 32 strokes behind winner Arizona State University.
Even though Ball State did not finish in the top of the field, head coach Mike Fleck said he was content with the Cardinals' effort. Ball State defeated two nationally ranked squads: the University of California (36th) and the University of New Mexico (39th).
"I am actually very pleased," Fleck said. "We came into a competitive situation with quality teams and an unfamiliar golf course. And we put ourselves in a position to be in the top 10. We were only two strokes out of the top 10, so I give our guys a lot of credit for putting up good numbers against the caliber of teams that were in the tournament."
Because Ball State was the only Mid-American Conference team at the event, the Cardinals faced major conference teams such as the University of Oregon from the Pac 10 and the University of Oklahoma from the Big 12. The Ducks and Sooners finished four and two strokes ahead of the Cardinals.
"The competitive experience and environment that we faced is invaluable. The Pac 10 and Big 12 are nationally recognized and this tournament was a great opportunity for us," Fleck said. "We gained nothing but confidence and experience. We were able to knock off a few teams in the national 40, and we aren't able to do that every week."
Even though the MAC Championships are three weeks away, Fleck said he is not worried that his players did not compete against conference opponents. He said Kampen Golf Course in Arizona is similar to the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course where the championships will take place.
Seniors Andrew Rhodes and Brian Maurer were the team's top performers. Rhodes tied for 25th place individually out of 96 golfers. He shot a 70 and 73 in rounds two and three, giving him a total of 216.
Maurer managed a 73, 74 and 71. He tailed a score of 218, to finish tied for 39th place.
"I thought we played OK," Maurer said. "We hung in there with some good teams, but we were 12th out of 17, which can be discouraging."
Ball State will now have a week off before traveling to East Lansing, Mich., for the Fossum Invitational on April 25.
"The last three weeks have been a grind, but having a week off will be good for us," Maurer said. "We will use this time to get ready for the MAC tournament and assess what we need to improve on. It's a process of getting everyone on the same page and once we do that we will win."
Despite having this week off, Fleck said he doesn't think there is much to fix.
"We just need to keep the competitive environment going and get ready for the next tournament," Fleck said. "This break will give us time to reenergize and regroup and allow the team to catch up in the classroom."
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