SVSU’s men golfers shot disappointingly the past two weekends in back-to-back tournaments in Ohio.
The Cardinals’ struggles began in the Findlay Fall Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 24, and Monday, Sept. 25, where they finished with a team score of 596, posting back-to-back rounds of 298.
The score put the Cardinals in 10th place in a 13-team field.
Seniors Austin Carter and Ryan Peruski led the team effort with two-day totals of 148 to finish T-22 individually. Junior Dustin Pumford followed the seniors with rounds of 73-76.
Senior Mason Motte played individually for the Cardinals and finished tied for sixth, shooting 71-72.
The men’s team made the trip back to Ohio to play a 36-hole tournament in Tiffin on Saturday, Sept. 30, and Sunday, Oct. 1.
In its opening 18, SVSU posted 297, featuring only Peruski under par (2-under 70). The Cards shaved 10 strokes off their score on the second 18, with Motte posting a 2-under 70 and redshirt freshman Gunnar Stein bouncing back from an opening 7-over 79 to shoot 3-under 69.
SVSU finished the second day with a total of 301 strokes in their last 18 holes. SVSU, which finished eighth, was the only team within the top 13 teams to shoot over 300 in its last round.
Wayne State won the tournament at a score of 869, beating second-place Grand Valley by seven strokes.
Motte led the Cardinals in the last round with a score of 72. He also carded the lowest two-day total for SVSU, separating himself and Carter, the next lowest Cardinal, by six strokes.
Peruski and Stein tied for the tournament at 224, with Pumford bringing up the rear with 230 strokes.
At the same time, the women’s team, competed in the Gilda’s Club Laker Fall Invite at Grand Valley. SVSU was one of nine teams competing in the tournament.
The Lady Cards opened with a team total of 330 strokes, tying for sixth after the first round. Grand Valley led their home tournament after the first day with a score of 299.
Sophomore Sabrina Coffman carded a 6-over-par 78 to lead the Cards, good for T-15 individually. Freshmen Annika Neumann and Lucy Cornwell followed Coffman with an 82 and 83, respectively. Sophomores Shelbe Cahill and Emily Barker each shot 15-over-par 87, placing each of them at T-40.
The second and final round did not bode favorably for the Lady Cards. Coffman once again led the squad with a 4-over 76, followed by an 82 from Cornwell. Cahill, Neumann and Barker followed up with an 87, 88 and 90, respectively.
Overall, the Cardinals finished seventh for the tournament. Grand Valley won its home tournament with a score of 591, beating second-place Northern Michigan by 27 strokes.
“It was a very difficult course, and they had it set up pretty long and tough,” Coffman said. “We still have a couple tournaments left in the fall, so we are going to grind this week to post some good rounds.”
