Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
State Farm MVC Championship
Men's Golf captures second place at MVC Championship
04/27/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Golf
April 27, 2010
By Dana Ingraham
www.SIUSalukis.com
HUTCHINSON, Kan. - Southern Illinois' hopes of its first Missouri Valley Conference title in men's golf were dashed Tuesday by three-time reigning champion Wichita State.
Despite shooting their best round of the tournament at 308, the Salukis fell 11 strokes behind the Shockers to finish the tournament in second place with a 54-hole score of 933. WSU took the Valley title at 922, led by MVC Player of the Year and individual medalist Dustin Garza who was the only player to shoot even-par at the championship.
Southern finished second in the conference tournament for the third time in program history (2008, 1990), and as a team put together the best collaborative effort of the 2009-10 season. All five golfers for SIU finished inside the top-25 after being picked to finish seventh overall in the pre-tournament poll.
Patrick Scheil finished in fifth place in his last tournament as a Saluki, shooting 76-76-78=230. Freshman Jake Erickson turned in his best collegiate performance by far, carding the lowest final round for SIU (75) to finish sixth at 231. Both Scheil and Erickson were awarded All-MVC honors for finishing in the top-six.
Jordan Cox, who has remained a staple of the Saluki golf lineup for the past three years, finished tied for the 12th spot (75-82-78=235) in his last collegiate appearance.
Fellow seniors Blake Driskell and Clay Yates tied for 24th place at 243 to complete the scorecard for SIU, also marking the end of their collegiate careers.
Southern Illinois has finished in the top three in the conference in four out of the last five years. Although unable to capture the crown this season, the jump from a projected seventh-place finish to second is an impressive accomplishment for head coach Leroy Newton and his team, and one to build on next season.
