After three days of competition, Ball State Men’s Golf took a seventh-place finish overall in the 2022 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship to wrap up their season.
The five-man team of freshman Kash Bellar, redshirt freshmen Griffin Hare and Ali Khan, freshman Colin Nasser, junior Joey Wiseman and senior Joey Ranieri made the trip to White Eagle Golf Club in Naperville, IL for the competition April 29 through May 1.
Friday
Khan stormed out on the first day to a tie for fourth place after shooting even-par and Ranieri found himself in a tie for ninth place at one-over-par.
Three birdies and 12 pars aided Kahn in his strong start to the weekend, however, Ranieri knocked in more birdies than anyone on the team with five over his first 18 holes.
Bellar and Nasser were tied for 25th for shooting 6-over-par, leaving Wiseman in a tie for 26th place at 10-over-par.
The Cardinals ended their first card in fifth place at 13-over-par.
Saturday
Harsh playing conditions hindered Ball State early with a weather delay with only three Cardinals across the whole field shooting an even-par score.
“We just didn't connect as a team,” head coach Mike Fleck said. “We struggled to put some quality rounds together.”
Ball State was knocked down two spots to seventh place overall with a 40-0ver-par team score.
Khan fell back three spots to seventh place after shooting 5-over-par while Ranieri only dropped one back to 10th place at 7-over-par. Both players secured two birdies apiece on the second day.
Bellar secured a spot in 34th place at 15-over-par, one spot above Nasser and Wiseman who each ended their second round of 18 holes at 17-over-par.
Sunday
Khan and Ranieri each ended their last 18 holes in the top 15 as Khan finished in a tie for 10th place with eight-over-par and Ranieri tied for 12th place at 9-over-par. Bellar was the highest-placed Cardinal after Ranieri, in 33rd place at 17-over-par.
Nasser ended his 54 holes tied for 35th place at 22-over-par to close out the last match of the season.
Fleck said his team can be prepared for next year by using their upcoming summer break to hone their skills on the course.
“I think the players could go out this summer and continue to build on areas of improvement,” Fleck said. “Going out, competing in tournaments and putting the work in. And hopefully, our guys will be in a little better place when the fall season starts.”
Contact Corbin Hubert with comments at cchubert@bsu.edu or on Twitter @corbin_hubert_