Sophomore Jackson Piacsek competes in rain
Courtesy | Hillsdale Athletic Department
Hillsdale men’s golf team finished runner-up to Grand Valley State University in the Ulndy Fall Invitational Sept. 22-23, breaking the team’s previous record score by 15 strokes.
The tournament was held at Broadmoor Country Club in Indianapolis and had a competitive field with 14 teams attending. Five of Hillsdale’s players competed and together shot a 282-281-273=836, passing up the record of 851 that was set last April.
“There were for sure some strong teams to watch out for,” junior Rob Thompson said. “GVSU is really good. Missouri S&T finished T5 at nationals last year, Gannon made nationals last year as well, and there were a few other solid teams. Definitely better field than the last event.”
Head coach Luke Kelly said the team was ready for the competition and performed strongly.
“We felt like we were well prepared and ready to keep our momentum rolling from our first tournament of the year,” Kelly said. “The team battled through some very wet weather on day one and then played really well on day two. I thought we took a nice step forward this week.”
All of Hillsdale’s players had strong performances, each either matching their previous records or setting new personal bests.
“The whole team contributed,” Kelly said. “Robert Thompson’s 64 (-8) in round three was a standout.”
Each member of the team was in the top 20, and two players were in the top 10.
Thompson finished seventh shooting a 71-73-64=208. Freshman Parker Stalcup also placed in the top 10 and tied for eighth with a 70-68-71=209.
Junior Oliver Marshall finished 16th and sophomore Jackson Piacsek tied for 18th with junior Ryan O’Rourke.
The team placed well even with the poor weather.
“The first day it rained basically the whole time, to the point where there was a delay to let the course dry,” Thompson said.
Marshall said the team felt pretty strong following their season-opening win and expects continued success.
“We felt pretty good coming in, especially after the win at the last tournament,” Marshall said. “Overall, I would say we performed pretty well and everyone contributed nicely. Going forward I think we should be pretty good this year and will look to keep up the good play.”
Kelly said the team is in a good place and simply needs to continue moving forward.
“Nothing changes, just need to keep working and keep improving every day,” Kelly said.
The team will return to Indiana to compete at the Midwest Regional Preview in Peru Sept. 29-30.
