The Eastern Michigan University men’s golf team headed to Nashport, Ohio for the Mid-American Conference championship after a very strong regular season. The team began the tournament with high hopes to continue an already-successful 2013 campaign.
The tournament consisted of four rounds at the Longaberger Golf Course. The Eagles finished in sixth place behind Kent State University, the University of Toledo, Ball State University, the University of Akron and Bowling Green State University, respectively.
Kent State’s Taylor Pendrith was the only player in the tournament to finish with a score under par, finishing in first place with a score of seven under par for the tournament (70, 68, 70, 73).
Along with Pendrith’s success on the course, Kent State’s Corey Conners, Kevin Miller, and Kyle Kmiecik all finished in the top ten for the tournament. Nicholas Scott of Kent State finished in a tie for 17th place.
Toledo’s Chris Selfridge finished the tournament in second place with a score of one over par (70, 78, 70, 71). Along with his success, UT had three other golfers in the top 20, two of which were in the top ten.
University of Akron’s Charlie Bull came in third place with a score of two over par (76, 72, 68, 74). They also had two other golfers in the top 20.
Ball State University’s Tyler Merkel came in fourth place in the tournament with a score of three over par (70, 76, 71, 74). BSU had two other players in the top 20.
EMU’s Casey Olsen had an awesome round, and came in thirteenth place in the tournament with a score of 14 over par (78, 75, 74, 75).
Olsen was pretty happy with his play this weekend.
“I played fairly decent,” Olsen said. “I finished in 13th place in the tournament. I definitely left some shots out there, though.”
The course and weather conditions were less than ideal this past weekend.
“Conditions were tough, it was super windy and the course was very windy,” Olsen said.
EMU Player Results:
• Olsen came in 13th place with a score of 14 over par.
• Brett White finished in a tie for 24th place with a score of 20 over par.
• Brian Churchill-Smith finished one stroke behind White and came in 26th place with a score of 21 over par.
• Spencer Slade finished the tournament in a tie for 33rd place with a score of 27 over par.
• Stuart Grehan finished the tournament one stroke behind Slade and came in a tie for 35th place with a score of 28 over par.
EMU was not accepted to move on to regionals because of the team’s sixth place finish, but the younger golfers on the team are already looking forward to continuing the team’s success next season.
Olsen is sad that his career at EMU is coming to an end, but said he is looking forward to moving on and playing during the summer.
“I think my game is in a good place right now,” Olsen said. “I am pretty excited and getting geared up for tournaments this summer.”
Editor’s Note: Olsen qualified for the US Open and will compete in the tournament, which is scheduled to begin on June 3. Stay with The Eastern Echo to see how Olsen plays.
