Hoosiers suffer season-ending loss in NCAA Central Regional

After 54 holes and 850 strokes, it came down to only three shots. A mere three shots kept the IU men’s golf team from advancing to the NCAA Championships and gave the Hoosiers a ninth-place finish.
 
The Hoosiers wrapped up the NCAA Central Regional and its season Saturday at the Warren Golf Course in South Bend.

Opening rounds of 285 and 286 put the Hoosiers behind the eight ball heading into Saturday’s third and final round, IU coach Mike Mayer said. However, a closing round of 279, the fourth-lowest total of the year for IU, kept the Hoosiers in the running for one of the five team berths to the NCAA Championship.

“I think the tournament started off kind of mediocre for us in the first two rounds,” Mayer said. “We had some opportunities, in particular during the second round, that we let slip away.”

During the third and final round, the Hoosiers were anywhere from one to three shots outside fifth place but could not mount one final charge into the top five.

“Throughout most of the day, we were right there, nip and tuck,” Mayer said. “But at the end of the day, we had too many unforced errors, and being three shots off the money leaves us with not a very good taste leaving Notre Dame.”

IU also missed a chance to have an individual advance to the NCAA Championships as sophomore David Erdy finished the week tied for 11th place, shooting 209 on the weekend and missing the individual cut by one shot.

Sophomore Chase Wright’s opening-round 68 paced the Hoosiers on Thursday, and he finished the week in 28th place individually.

Closing the book on one of the most consistent careers in IU golf history, senior Alex Martin shot 67 in Saturday’s final round and gave the Hoosiers hope with a 31 on his final nine holes.

Martin’s 67 was the team’s best 18 holes of the regional, and he finished tied for 32nd place.

“That is how an All-Big Ten player finishes up his career — with a 67 in the NCAA Tournament,” Mayer said of Martin’s final round.

Providing stability out of the four spot all week for the Hoosiers was freshman Brant Peaper, whose score counted toward the team total in two of the three rounds. Peaper shot a 217 and finished tied for 43rd place.

A final-round 72 for freshman Corey Ziedonis was the low round of the week for the Indianapolis product, and he finished the NCAA Central Regional in 59th place.
Even though IU’s season came to an end this weekend, Mayer said he focused on the accomplishments the team had throughout the season.

The Hoosiers twice swept the team and individual titles this season when they captured the Renaissance Invitational in November and the adidas Hoosier Invitational in April. Martin and Wright were the individual champions in each of those tournaments, respectively.

For Mayer and the Hoosiers, it won’t be easy replacing Martin, who has been a mainstay in the lineup for three straight NCAA Tournament teams.

The return of two sophomores and two freshmen in the lineup, along with three other underclassmen who saw action this season, will make next year anything but a rebuilding year for the Hoosiers.

“It’s a great group to coach, and I will take away a lot of good feelings and some momentum heading into the summer,” Mayer said. “The core of our team returns next year, and we got a couple of freshmen that we think can come in and compete.”