After a spring season full of rain and rained out tournaments, the men’s golf team didn’t perform quite as well as the members would have hoped at the Heart of America Athletic Conference championship.
The team hosted the tournament Monday and Tuesday at Alvamar Golf Course in Lawrence.
Three rounds and two days later, the Wildcats placed last in the HAAC. Lindenwood University snagged first place overall.
Junior Zack Rockey said no one on the team performed to the best of his ability.
“There wasn’t a single guy who came to play,” he said. “We played fairly well all year, but it seemed like we all picked the wrong time to play like crap.”
Sophomore Adam Taylor, who had a combined score of 244 and placed 14th overall, led the Wildcats.
Junior Gavin Tatrn finished five strokes behind Taylor, follwed by senior Tanner Christenson, shooting a 251, senior PJ Matulka, 256, and Rockey, 267.
Throughout the season, the Wildcats’ top five players have differed. Taylor said although it shows that a lot of players are able to compete with each other, it has hurt in the fact some haven’t had a lot of varsity experience.
“I think some of the guys put some pressure on themselves to perform better,” he said.
Due to weather, the Wildcats were unable to practice and compete as much as they would have liked. The lack of practice and play hindered their ability to perform, Rockey said.
“Right when we started to get in the groove, we had conference and it was over,” he said. “I think that played a huge factor in the way we performed at conference.”
Tatrn said the loss of Chris Wilson to the University of Oklahoma golf team during preseason was difficult for the team in terms of players expecting to come back.
“The loss of Chris Wilson really set us back,” he said. “We finished the fall season on a high note, so we had high expectations for the spring.”
The Wildcats will return six seniors next year, and the team will bounce back from a less than stellar season, Tatrn said.
"We're a pretty tight-knit group of guys, and I think we'll have a pretty well-balanced team," he said.<br/>&#160;