advertisement

SIU Golf: Salukis win first MVC Championship in school history

In a stunning upset, the Southern Illinois University men's golf team won its first Missouri Valley Conference championship in school history on Tuesday, finishing 10 strokes ahead of heavily favored Wichita State, which had won the last eight league titles.

The Salukis (+37) led by five strokes heading into the final round at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., and they doubled that lead today by shooting a 295 team score, pulling away from the second-place Shockers (+47), who recorded a 300.

"From the time our guys arrived on campus in August, everything we've done was preparing to win this conference championship," said head coach Justin Fetcho, who was named MVC Coach of the Year. "I'm so excited for these guys because they've worked extremely hard. To see it all come together is very, very special."

A brilliantly played 17th hole was the difference-maker in today's round. SIU's Peyton Wilhoit and Brandon Carlson both birdied the 17th, with Carlson sinking a 30-foot putt from just off the green. Meanwhile, Wichita State's Gage Ihrig made a triple bogey on 17, which resulted in a five-stroke swing in Southern's favor in the team standings.

"Today was kind of an up and down day," Fetcho said. "In the beginning, I thought we came out with a great look, played strong golf early and put some distance between us and the field. Then we hit a little bit of adversity in the middle rounds, and when we hit it, we just kept fighting through. We've been training ourselves to be strong when things aren't going our way. To win that way was icing on the cake."

SIU was picked to finish fourth in the pre-tournament poll, and had never won a MVC title in 41 previous tries since joining the league in 1975. In a pre-tournament poll of head coaches, Wichita State was the unanimous choice to repeat this year.

"It's a dream come true -- this is what we've worked for," said SIU's lone senior Drew Novara. "I don't think anyone outside of our team really understood how much talent we have. I have all the confidence in the world in myself and my team."

Individually, four Salukis placed in the top 11, led by Carlson's third place showing (+5), matching the best individual finish in school history, tying Kyle Hosick (2004) and Chad Cooper (2006).

"I got off to a poor start and took a double bogey on the second hole," Carlson said. "I 3-putted from five feet. On the next hole I thought, you know what, I have 16 holes to go, let's grind this out. I didn't let it get to me and slip away, the team needed me and I gave it my all. I was going head-to-head with the Wichita guy for a while and I put the dagger in on the last three holes."

After leading the field through the first two rounds, Wilhoit took fifth place (+8). Both he and Carlson earned All-Conference honors, while Luke Gannon tied for ninth (+12), Matt Greenfield tied for 11th (+13) and Novara came in 33rd to round out SIU's scoring.

"We have a bunch of guys who want to work extremely hard and want to learn and get better," said Fetcho, who is in his second season at SIU. "They have a mindset of wanting to win a tournament like this. The players believe and are willing to put in time and effort. It's their work and their effort, they're the ones out there grinding. All recognition needs to go to them, they have to do it. I couldn't be more proud of them."

With the win, Southern Illinois advances to the NCAA Regionals for the first time. Fetcho said 13-14 teams will be assigned to each of the six Regional sites, with competition taking place May 16-18. The top five finishers in each region advance to the NCAA Championships that begin May 27 in Eugene, Ore.

TEAM STANDINGS

1 Southern Illinois 289 293 295 877 +37

2 Wichita State 288 299 300 887 +47

3 Illinois State 293 296 300 889 +49

4 Missouri State 298 291 309 898 +58

5 Bradley University 299 300 304 903 +63

6 Evansville 300 301 305 906 +66

7 Drake 297 304 306 907 +67

8 Northern Iowa 302 307 316 925 +85

9 Loyola U.- Chicago 309 300 329 938 +98

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS

3 Brandon Carlson (+5) 74 71 70 215

5 Peyton Wilhoit (+8) 68 73 77 218

T9 Luke Gannon (+12) 74 73 75 222

T11 Matt Greenfield (+13) 73 77 73 223

T33 Drew Novara (+25) 78 76 81 235