By Jeff Craig, Sports Writer
The Wildcat golf team made their case for an NCAA top-25 ranking by finishing tied for second at the 2009 DBU Patriot Invite on Monday and Tuesday in Dallas.
The most recent NCAA Division II men’s golf rankings had ACU outside of the top 25 after being ranked 20th in the previous rankings. The tournament was the Wildcats’ second to last tournament of the season, and head coach Mike Campbell said he’s feeling good about the progress his team has made down the stretch.
“I feel really good about the way we played in Dallas,” Campbell said. “Conditions were pretty windy and I thought the guys played through it and finished well.”
As a team, the Wildcats shot, 298-297-295-890, and finished tied for second with Northwood University. Oklahoma Christian University took home the championship by shooting, 290-282-291-863. OCU’s Tor-Erik Knudsen won the overall title by shooting, 73-69-72-214. Knudsen, a native of Norway and just a freshman, has helped lead the OCU Eagles to a No. 1 ranking in the NAIA this season.
ACU’s Cyril Bouniol from Laloubere, France, finished tied for second with OCU’s Fernando Gonzales by shooting, 74-71-70-215, just one stroke behind winner Knudsen. Bouniol’s second place finish was his highest of the season, and tied for the second-highest finish by a Wildcat this semester behind freshman Morgan Johnson’s first place victory at the Dustdevil Open in Laredo earlier this season in which Bouniol placed second. Campbell has been pleased with the progress and recent play of his sophomore.
“Cyril has played really solid,” Campbell said. “We’ve played eight tournaments this year, and he has been in the top five six of those times. You can really tell that he’s improving from week to week.”
Senior Hilton Funk tied for 11th by shooting (74-74-74-222); freshman Zach Sadau tied for 21st (76-74-77-227); senior Patrick Hanauer tied for 23rd (76-78-74-228); and senior Michael Andruchek rounded out ACU’s top five tied for 51st after shooting (74-81-85-240).
Reigning all-conference player Patrick Hanauer had his best tournament of the semester after injuring his back. Previously, Hanauer finished 53rd at the St. Edwards Invitational and tied for 27th in San Diego earlier this month. Campbell feels Hanauer’s back is healing nicely.
The Wildcats have one more regular season tournament remaining. The team will hope to bolster its national positioning when they head to Edmond, Okla., for the UCO/Kickingbird Classic. Two weeks after the tournament in Edmond, ACU will travel to Thackerville, Okla., for the Lone Star Conference Championship. Campbell wants to see continued progression from his team in Edmond as they look forward to the LSC tournament.
“I’d like to see us keep improving like we did from California to this tournament,” Campbell said. “We want to peak at the right time, and for us that is conference, regional’s and nationals, and those are coming up.”
