Men's Golf | April 22

COLUMBUS, Ohio - With the same spirit it has competed with the entire spring season, the NIU men's golf team did not break character at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate on Saturday, battling back from 15th to 13th with its second round performance. 

With their afternoon score of 308, the Huskies improved by eight strokes from the morning and built upon their jockeying position for a top-10 finish, trailing ninth-place holders Akron and Eastern Michigan by a mere four strokes.

Freshman Jordan Less was NIU's bright spot in the morning, tallying a one over 72 to close the round in a tie for second place. The freshman followed up with a 77 in his second 18-holes. However, his teammates answered the call in the second round, led by Paul Schlimm's 73 and Charlie Cameron's 76. 

"I was pleased with the bounce back from everyone this afternoon, especially Paul and Thomas, but we need to be more conservative with our game plan tomorrow. If we execute better we have a chance to move up," said Director of Golf Tom Porten.

"Jordan shined this morning and played smart golf for most of the day, leading us with a 72 and a 77," he continued. "He was very efficient around the greens with only three bogies and two birdies for a fine start. He had a slow start in the afternoon but battled hard and played his last six even to stay in the top-20."

However, Porten knew where the Huskies shortcomings lay, and likewise, where they can improve in the final round.

"Scarlet is a great golf course and the cool breezy conditions today made it critical to have the ball in the fairways. This morning we didn't do a very good job of that and then our short games weren't effective enough to cover the mistakes off the tee and as a result, we struggled," Porten closed.

The Huskies will tee off on the back nine of the course tomorrow, starting at 8:03 a.m. Central.

TEAM SCORES: 1. Kent State - 294-285=579 (+11); 2. Illinois - 298-282=580 (+12); 3. Iowa - 300-293=593 (+25); t4. Nebraska - 300-299=599 (+31); t4. Ohio State - 297-302=599 (+31); t6. Ball State - 304-302=606 (+38); t6. Penn State - 299-307=606 (+38); 8. Miami (OH) - 308-305=613 (+45); t9. Eastern Michigan - 306-310=616 (+48); t9. Akron - 315-301=616 (+48); 11. Michigan State - 310-307=617 (+49); 12. Rutgers - 306-313=619 (+51); 13. NIU - 317-303=620 (+52); 14. Bowling Green - 313-309=622 (+54); 15. Indiana - 316-308=624 (+56)

TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS: 1. Chase Johnson (KSU) - 73-71=144 (+2); t2. Dylan Meyer (UI) - 74-71=145 (+3); t2. Carson Schaake (Iowa) - 75-70=145 (+3); t2. Bjarki Petursson (KSU) - 73-72=145 (+3); t2. Michael Feagles (UI) - 74-71=145 (+3); t6. Daniel Wetterich (OSU) - 73-73=146 (+4); t6. Mike Colgate (UN) - 72-74=146 (+4); t6. Jace Guthmiller (UN) - 74-72=146 (+4); t6. Charlie Netzel (MSU) - 71-75=146 (+4); t6. Josh Whalen (KSU) - 75-71=146 (+4); t6. Elliott Grayson (Akron) - 75-71=146 (+4); t6. Ian Holt (KSU) - 73-73=146 (+4)

NIU INDIVIDUALS: t17. Jordan Less - 72-77=149 (+7); t39. Charlie Cameron - 78-76=154 (+12); t53. Paul Schlimm - 84-73=157 (+15); t63. Thomas DeMarco - 83-77=160 (+18); t77 Matt Cholod - 84-80=164 (+22)