With drier weather conditions and a dazzling sun to boot, the third round of the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational proved to be Ball State University's best.
The men's golf team posted the best third round of the tournament to finish in second place out of 15 teams at the Delaware Country Club in Muncie. The Cardinals finished with a team-combined score of 856 (289-284-283), six strokes behind winner Bowling Green State University.
"We played a lot better in the final round and were just a few scores from getting first," coach Mike Fleck said. "I have to give a lot of credit to my guys because we were down 17 shots before the third round, and you just can't make that up in college golf. We closed the gap on Bowling Green, but fell short. We played well through it though, and it was a successful day."
Junior Anthony Novak, who finished third individually out of 84 golfers, was the Cardinals' top performer. Novak carded a 2-over-par 212 (72-71-69) on the par-70 course.
In addition, four out of the five Cardinal golfers placed in the top 15 individuals. Alongside Novak, senior Ross Cosat tied for fourth place, while juniors Eric Skillman and Eric Steger tied for eighth and 13th. Freshman Alex Stinson shot a 225 to finish tied for 37th.
Cosat, who fired a 72-69-72, had an opportunity to finish first overall. However, Cosat finished his last three holes with a triple-bogey, double-bogey and a par.
"We still have a lot of room for improvement. We can definitely post lower scores," Cosat said. "We have a lot of potential though. Our expectation was that we should have won our home tournament, but we weren't able to close the deal. If anything, it's bittersweet. It's nice to finish second, but it sucks to finish second at our home course."
Ball State also played six players as individuals. Sophomore Zac Henderson was the best Cardinal individual as he shot a 221 (74-77-70) tying for 21st.
Because all 11 players on Ball State's roster were able to compete, Fleck says he was able to learn quite a bit about his team.
"It was nice to play all 11 guys on our roster," Fleck said. "It was a good chance to evaluate our players, and I'm glad this happened so early in the schedule. It's positive that four out of our five golfers placed in the top 15. We have a lot to work on though. We had some good productive rounds, but have to be better at putting all three rounds together to produce a good score."
The Cardinals will next be in action Oct. 5 for the Xavier Invitational in Loveland, Ohio.
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