LANCASTER, Ohio – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's golf team closed out their regular season slate at the Bill Blazer Memorial Match Play tournament hosted by G-MAC foe Ohio Dominican from April 11-12.
Eight teams competed in the event, including additional G-MAC foes Malone and Thomas More. The Panthers finished T-5th with four other teams in the standings.
Lewis
Wesleyan opened the event with a defeat to Lewis. The Panthers had three matches go to the 18th hole, but were unable to prevail in any of the three. Ben Carter came from behind to force a last-hole showdown, and Ryan Loiars played one of the best players in the regional on his way to forcing a final-hole battle as well.
Jefferson
The Panthers fell behind early against Jefferson. Loiars and Jonathan Kaminski tallied victories to put Wesleyan at the verge of a win in the best-of-five match. Braydon Bond, down two holes with just two to go, erased that deficit with wins on 17 and 18 before ultimately falling on the first playoff hole.
The match came down to Carter, who eagled the 16th hole to tie the match and eventually force extra holes. After the first playoff hole, the match was stopped due to darkness. Carter returned the next morning and delivered a terrific shot into the second playoff hole to make par and win the match for KWC, 3-2.
Saginaw Valley State
In their final matchup against SVSU, Wesleyan fell 4-1 as Kaminski accounted for the one win. The senior birdied the first four holes before his lead was later reduced to one with just seven holes left, but Kaminski got back to hitting fairways and greens to build his advantage back to three before closing out the match on the 16th hole.
"This wasn't exactly what we were looking for right before our conference championship," head coach Ken Badylak said. "We enjoy the format, it's good to play match play at least once a year. I thought Jon did a good job finishing 2-1 on the weekend. Overall, we can certainly identify what needs to be addressed moving forward. All our attention needs to put back on the process and ourselves."
The Kentucky Wesleyan men's golf team next heads to the Great Midwest Championship at Belterra Golf Resort in Florence, Indiana. The 54-hole championship is set to run from April 20-21.
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