MVC GOLF APRIL 10, 2024

MVC Golf Record Book

MVC Men's and Women's Golf Preseason Polls

This week's Missouri Valley Conference golfers of the week include Southern Illinois' Edouard Cereto, Belmont's Michael Senn, Payton Carter of Murray State, and Kate Petrova of Evansville. Each earned medalist honors in their respective tournaments this past week.

Belmont, Evansville, and Missouri State competed at the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate in suburban Nashville at the par-71, 7,022-yard layout at the Hermitage Golf Course (President’s Reserve) in Old Hickory, Tenn. Belmont junior Michael Senn (Bentonville, Ark.) was medalist in the 86-player field. He fired a three-round 69-68-63=200 to help the Bruins to the team title at 846, as Belmont defended its crown from last season and recorded its third win of the season. Senn's score of 63 ties for the lowest round by a Belmont golfer in the Division I era. His -8 total for Tuesday ties the school record for lowest round in relation to par and his 54-hole mark of 200 ranks as the second lowest in the Division I era, just one shot off the record of 199. It marked his second career individual title – and he is the fourth Bruin in the Division I era to win two titles or more. Missouri State totaled 866 in three trips around the President's Reserve Course and came up eight strokes short of the co-champs and two behind third-place Austin Peay, which shared the lead with the Bears at the beginning of the day. Senior Hampus Wijkstrom led the way for MSU, carding 69-72-71--212 for the tournament to finish fifth overall. Evansville's Daniil Romashkin tied for 10th place to lead the Aces while competing as an individual. The Aces were sixth as a team.

Four league teams (Southern Illinois, Valparaiso, Murray State, and Evansville) competed at the Hoosier Collegiate at the Pfau Course at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. Host Indiana won the event with a three-round 867. SIU was the top-scoring MVC school, as the Salukis finished fourth with a three-round 300-291-305=896. Saluki sophomore Edouard Cereto turned in his best performance of the spring, placing first in Hoosier Collegiate with a score of 212 (-1). After a first-round score of 73 (+2), Cereto took over in the 2nd round with a score of 68 (-3), the second-best round behind one other golfer. He then cemented himself as the champion in round three with a score of 71 (E). The victory is the first for a Saluki individual since Frank Bellino and Justin Wingerter tied for first at the Rend Lake College Fall Invitational on Oct. 10. Valparaiso's Caleb VanArragon paced the squad with a 75 (+4) in Sunday’s final round after finishing Round 2 with a 71 (E). His 54-hole score of 219 (+6) helped him tie for seventh in an 87-player field. Murray State came home with a 13th-place finish (309-308-313=930) to best Evansville (945) and Eastern Kentucky (951). Lennon Albans led the Racers with a spot in 32nd place on scores of 73-76-79=228. Daniil Romashkin paced UE as his final tally of 234 tied him for 58th place.

UNI men's golf ended the 2023-24 regular season with a bang, capturing the Stampede At The Creek team title on Tuesday at the Indian Creek Golf Course. Led by a stellar performance by Griffin Parker and four top-20 individual finishes on the leaderboard, the Panther men led from start to finish in the team race, holding off second place and host Omaha by seven strokes to capture the program's first tournament title since winning the Zach Johnson Invitational in 2015. Recording one of his best tournaments in recent memory, Parker (three-round 216) sank 12 birdies during the three-round, two-day competition with a pair of eagles to finish in a three-way tie for second place individually, one stroke off individual champion Davis Johnson (Nebraska). Parker's tournament was highlighted by a season-best score of 67 (-5) in Monday's opening round. Bradley finished sixth in the Stampede at the Creek as the Braves fired a three-round 300-301-299=900, while Carter Stevenson tied his collegiate career highest individual placement in sixth place with a three-over 219 (72-73-74).

Also last week, UNI's JD Pollard led the way for the UNI men's team at the WIU Intercollegiate on Saturday afternoon at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities area. The UNI men finished in second place overall out of eight teams shooting a final team score of 881 (+29). Pollard, carding a total of 216 (+3), putting together three solid rounds of 71 (E), 72 (+1), and 73 (+2). Griffin Parker followed Pollard with a score of 219 (+6), carding rounds of 69 (-2), 78 (+7), and 72 (+1) finishing in a tie for sixth.

Murray State women's golf brought home their 12th championship Sunday at the Jan Weaver Invitational at Miller Memorial in Murray, Ky. First played in 2003 and this weekend marked the 23rd playing of the program's annual spring event. The Racers had a winning score line of 292-302-289=883 to outdistance Bellarmine (930). It was a 1-2-3 finish for MSU and also placed four players in the top 5. Payton Carter was medalist on scores of 71-74-68=213. She had a two-shot win over teammate Ella Scherer who had a score line of 72-74-69=215.

For the second year in a row, Evansville's Kate Petrova was the top finisher at the Indiana State Invitational at the Country Club of Terre Haute. After sitting in a tie with teammate Jane Grankina following the opening round, Petrova posted a 1-over 73 to defeat the competition in Monday's final round. Her 144 bested Olivia Jang of Purdue Fort Wayne by two strokes. Indiana State finished third and fourth in its tournament, as Indiana State's A team finished third and the B team right behind in fourth place. Purdue Fort Wayne won the event. The Sycamores were led by sophomore Briana LeMaire who finished with a score of 149 through both days. LeMaire shot a 71 (-1) in the second round after a +6 on day one (78). She finished fourth in the tournament, using six birdies and 11 pars to power the Sycamores. This marked LeMaire's best finish in her career.

The Missouri State women's golf team finished fifth of 15 teams Tuesday (Apr. 9) at the ORU Spring Invitational at the Club at Indian Springs' River Course. The Bears posted 298-301-306--905 for the tournament, while junior Helena Bel tallied her first career top-10 finish after taking the overnight lead into the final round. While the Zaragoza, Spain, native wasn't able to hold the lead, she finished tied for seventh with 69-71-81--221 to lead MSU. Drake also competed in the event and climbed three spots over the two-day event and finished tied for ninth out of the 15-team field. Abilene Christian (296-295-295—886) won the event, while Tulsa's Sirah Steinhoff was medalist after shooting 72-70-71 for a total of 213. Drake's Julie Huggins (79-75-71—225) had the lowest total and single-round score for the Bulldogs.

Belmont's Delia Gibbs (Lexington, Ky.) and teammate Ryan Bender (Louisville, Ky.) tied for fifth in a 52-player field at the Brickyard Collegiate (par-72, 6,171-yard layout at Brickyard GC – Macon, Ga. The Bruins finished the event tied for second place. Gibbs was 74-77-71=222 and Bender was 74-77-71=222. It marked Gibbs' sixth top-10 and 8th top-20 finish and was Bender's first top-10 finish and third top-20 finish -- her best finish of the season. Southern Illinois finished in ninth with a score of 967 (+103) as a team, finishing 67 strokes behind tournament champion Mercer. SIU's Janie Samattiyadeekul shot a season-low round of 70, which vaulted her up to 21st after starting the day in 37th.

Also last week, UNI's Anna Jensen led the way for UNI's women's golf program at the WIU Intercollegiate on Saturday afternoon at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities area. The Panther women finished in a tie for fourth shooting 937 (+85). Jensen finished in a tie for fourth place individually after carding a 223 (+10) with rounds of 77 (+6), 73 (+2), and 73 (+2). Following Jensen was Victoria Hualde, who finished in a tie for 11th carding a 231 (+18).

MVC Men's Golf Championship History

The 2024 MVC Men's Golf Championship will be at The Club at Porto Cima (April 21-23) in Sunrise Beach, Mo., and Missouri State is the host institution. The Championship Tees for the men's course will play at 7,060 yards.

MVC Women's Golf Championship History

The 2024 MVC Women's Golf Championship will be at the par-72, 6,176-yard layout at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Ill. UNI is the host school. Teams will play 18 holes each (April 14-16).