Wheeling, W. Va. – As the regular season winds down, the Wheeling University Men’s Golf team is gaining momentum, coming off their best performance of the season. On Monday, the team will compete in their final tune-up before the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men’s Golf Championship in a one-round event. They will head to the Waynesburg Invitational where they look to get one more solid round in before the championship event.

Last time out, the Cardinals wrapped up a three tournament stretch of conference play, competing at the West Liberty Invitational. They would finish 11th out of 14 teams, shooting a combined 908 across the three rounds of competition. It was their second lowest three round score of the season, sitting just seven strokes behind the 301 mark they set at the Charleston Invitational. As they continued to battle some of the best teams in the region, the Cardinals. Competed for a top 10 spot throughout the weekend. They had a few career days on day one that had them sitting seventh after one round of play. However, as the tournament went on, they slipped to 10th on day two before finishing the tournament with their 11rh place finish to round out the event.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Robin Duzmann who finished second overall, shooting a 209 across the three rounds. It was a career best performance for the sophomore, who shot a 70 or better in each of the three rounds of competition. He was battling with IUP’s Alex Swinerton throughout the competition, and the two remained tied for first heading into the third round. After the front nine, Duzmann had a one stroke advantage over Swinerton and tried to pick up his first collegiate win. He would do his part, shooting par on the final nine holes, but Swinerton would shoot a -2 and overtook Duzmann for the top spot. Duzmann was named the MEC’s Men’s Golfer of the Week for his efforts, winning just the second Men’s Golfer of the week  award, being just the second Cardinal to win the honors.

It was also a big tournament for freshman Luis Alvarez, who sat in the top 20 of the event after 18 holes of play. He shot a career-best 74 in that first round, to finish tied for 16th in the field. He would follow it up with an 80 in round two and an 82 in round three to finish with a three-round score of 236. Ryan Courtney would round out the day for the Cardinals improving his score in each day of competition. He started with a 76 in round one and took one stroke off his score in round two to hit a 75. However, his best showing came in round three, when he finished shooting a 72. Courtney jumped his position throughout the tournament and just cracked the top 40, finishing in a tie for 39th.

In this final regular season tune-up, the Cardinals are looking to build off their round three momentum from the Hanasstown Invitational. As a team, the Cardinals are averaging a team score of 302 per round and an average tournament score of 908. It is on pace to meet their single round team score from a season ago, and Wheeling is looking to continue that success in this final tune-up. It will mark the final chance for the Cardinals to crack a top five finish as they look to build on their momentum. With a young team leading the way, the Cardinals continue to build a winning tradition that moves the program forward.

Tournament Info

The Waynesburg Invitational kicks off on Monday with 12 teams competing at the Nemacolin. They will be the only NCAA DII school competing in the tournament, as they look to finish adding. The first tee time of the day is set for 9:30 AM. It will be played T the Nemacolin Country  Club in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. The Cardinals look to take advantage of their competition as they hit the course.

The Details

The Waynesburg Invitational kicks off on Monday, with first round action beginning at 9:30 AM. Follow along with results throughout the day by clicking HERE.