University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, March 17
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Desert Shootout
@UNC_MensGolf Solidifies Top 10 Finish at Desert Shootout
3/19/2016 5:16:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Bears finished in 9th place overall and had the best finish of any Big Sky school at the tournament.
FINAL RESULTS
GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Northern Colorado wrapped up the Desert Shootout with another strong performance, carding a 283 as a team and earning a Top 10 finish, coming in ninth.
The Bears were slated eighth heading into the final 18 holes and dropped one spot, but still had the highest finish of any Big Sky School with the help of freshman Josh Matz and senior Steven Kupcho.
The team totaled 851 (-13), the first under par finish for them this spring.
Iowa State won the Shootout coming in the clubhouse with an 823 (-41) as a team. Northern Illinois' Joo-Young Lee captured the individual title with a final score of 202 (-14).
"The guys competed hard and played well in this field. It was great to beat the defending Big Sky champions (Idaho) and also a few other teams that we've been having trouble competing with the last few years," Head coach Roger Prenzlow said about the tournament. "We also lost to a few teams, but certainly made our presence known to them this weekend."
Matz had the top round of the morning for UNC shooting 67 (-5) the best score for 18 of any Bear at the tournament.
The freshman was good for 12 pars, four birdies and an eagle, including a streak of 12 holes with par or better.
His only bogey on the day came at the turn on the 10th, but Matz immediately followed it up with an eagle.
Matz totaled a 211 (72,72,67) to finish tied for 24th overall, moving up over 20 spots on the leaderboard in the final day.
Kupcho marked the second best score on Saturday, with a 68 (-4), just one stroke behind Matz. Kupcho too ended with 12 pars, five birdies and just one bogey.
The senior stepped up at the midway point of the round holing birdie on the 10th, 11th and 15th to finish the back nine -3 under.
Kupcho also banked a Top 25 finish with a 211 (71,72,68) tying for 24th with Matz, jumping up from 37th yesterday.
Sophomore Sam Marley and freshman Eric Chen were in the middle of the pack for the team with 74 (+2) each.
Marley tallied four birdies, but had six holes over par with four consecutive holes of bogey.
Chen wrote down eight pars and four birdies, but had three bogeys and a two doubles to match it.
Marley earned a 47th place finish with a 220 (71,75,74), while Chen left the Palm Valley Golf Club with a 222 (77,71,74) coming in 86th overall.
Senior Conner Barr rounded out the team. Barr was -5 under heading into the finale, but couldn't keep his momentum going, signing off on a 76 (+4), totaling 215 (70,69,76) and a 47th place finish.
"Steven and Josh played exceptional today – Sam, Li (Eric) and Conner did some good stuff, but did not make as many putts as they normally do," Prenzlow added. "All in all, it was a great trip and we need to use it as momentum going forward."
Sophomore Andrew Romano, who played independently at the event carded his third straight 75 (+3) to end with a 225 (75,75,75). Romano tied for 97th.
Men's golf is right back on the links next weekend competing in The Goodwin Classic, hosted by Stanford, Mar. 24-26.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Northern Colorado wrapped up the Desert Shootout with another strong performance, carding a 283 as a team and earning a Top 10 finish, coming in ninth.
The Bears were slated eighth heading into the final 18 holes and dropped one spot, but still had the highest finish of any Big Sky School with the help of freshman Josh Matz and senior Steven Kupcho.
The team totaled 851 (-13), the first under par finish for them this spring.
Iowa State won the Shootout coming in the clubhouse with an 823 (-41) as a team. Northern Illinois' Joo-Young Lee captured the individual title with a final score of 202 (-14).
"The guys competed hard and played well in this field. It was great to beat the defending Big Sky champions (Idaho) and also a few other teams that we've been having trouble competing with the last few years," Head coach Roger Prenzlow said about the tournament. "We also lost to a few teams, but certainly made our presence known to them this weekend."
Matz had the top round of the morning for UNC shooting 67 (-5) the best score for 18 of any Bear at the tournament.
The freshman was good for 12 pars, four birdies and an eagle, including a streak of 12 holes with par or better.
His only bogey on the day came at the turn on the 10th, but Matz immediately followed it up with an eagle.
Matz totaled a 211 (72,72,67) to finish tied for 24th overall, moving up over 20 spots on the leaderboard in the final day.
Kupcho marked the second best score on Saturday, with a 68 (-4), just one stroke behind Matz. Kupcho too ended with 12 pars, five birdies and just one bogey.
The senior stepped up at the midway point of the round holing birdie on the 10th, 11th and 15th to finish the back nine -3 under.
Kupcho also banked a Top 25 finish with a 211 (71,72,68) tying for 24th with Matz, jumping up from 37th yesterday.
Sophomore Sam Marley and freshman Eric Chen were in the middle of the pack for the team with 74 (+2) each.
Marley tallied four birdies, but had six holes over par with four consecutive holes of bogey.
Chen wrote down eight pars and four birdies, but had three bogeys and a two doubles to match it.
Marley earned a 47th place finish with a 220 (71,75,74), while Chen left the Palm Valley Golf Club with a 222 (77,71,74) coming in 86th overall.
Senior Conner Barr rounded out the team. Barr was -5 under heading into the finale, but couldn't keep his momentum going, signing off on a 76 (+4), totaling 215 (70,69,76) and a 47th place finish.
"Steven and Josh played exceptional today – Sam, Li (Eric) and Conner did some good stuff, but did not make as many putts as they normally do," Prenzlow added. "All in all, it was a great trip and we need to use it as momentum going forward."
Sophomore Andrew Romano, who played independently at the event carded his third straight 75 (+3) to end with a 225 (75,75,75). Romano tied for 97th.
Men's golf is right back on the links next weekend competing in The Goodwin Classic, hosted by Stanford, Mar. 24-26.
| Position/Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Joshua Matz | 72 E | 72 E | 67 -5 | 211 -5 |
| 24 Steven Kupcho | 71 -1 | 72 E | 68 -4 | 211 -5 |
| 47 Conner Barr | 70 -2 | 69 -3 | 76 +4 | 215 -1 |
| 73 Sam Marley | 71 -1 | 75 +3 | 74 +2 | 220 +4 |
| 86 Li Chen | 77 +5 | 71 -1 | 74 +2 | 222 +6 |
| Team Total | 284 -4 | 284 -4 | 283 -5 | 851 -13 |
| Team Position | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| IND Andrew Romano | 75 +3 | 75 +3 | 75 +3 | 225 +9 |
Players Mentioned
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