Trojans place 5th at Upper Iowa Invite
WATERLOO - The NIACC men's golf team placed fifth at the Upper Iowa Spring Invitational on Saturday at the Sunnyside Country Club with a team total of 320 strokes.
Quincy was the team champion in the 12-team tournament with 312 strokes. Augustana (S.D.) placed second with a team total of 314.
"I couldn't be more proud of how the guys handled the abysmal conditions (Saturday)," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said. "I'm a little surpriesed we even played (Saturday) with 'feels like' temperatures in the lower 20s, but they handled it well.
"We were tied for the lead with four holes left, but we stumbled home and lost by eight - finishing in fifth place against some very quality teams."
NIACC's Garrett Ham and Heath Voigt tied for 11th in the individual medalist competition with a pair of 79s. Augustana's Derek Anderson and Mary's Quinn Breidenbach shared individual medalist honors with rounds of 74.
"Garrett Ham and Heath Voigt were leaders for us again," Frenz said," but I also liked what I saw from the other guys."
NIACC's Hudson Kroymann and Ashtin Willms both shot 81s and Austin Stene shot 82. Nolan Reser played as an individual shot 84.
"Hudson Kroymann was all over the placed on the front nine, but did a great job of battling back on the back nine and ended up being one of the top four scorers for the team," Frenz said. "Sunny side is a tough golf course on a normal day, but in these conditions it was really tough as indicated by all of the high scores."
NIACC returns to action Monday at the Glen Oaks Collegiate in West Des Moines.
"We have to use this as a learning experience," Frenz said of Saturday's round, "and keep putting ourselves in a position to win.
"We're good enough to compete in our very difficult region, but we need to finish."
Team standings - Quincy 312, Augustana (S.D.) 314, Mary (N.D.) B 318, Mary (N.D.) 319, NIACC 320, Upper Iowa 321, Northern Michigan 322, Hawkeye CC 332, Wartburg 332, Wartburg B 333, Luther 337, North Central (Minn.) 351.
