Ball State University Athletics
2006 Ball State Men's Golf Season Preview
February 09, 2006 | Men's Golf
Ball State Athletics Communications & Marketing Assistant
When the Ball State men's golf team hosts its first Mid-American Conference Championship in 17 years this May, it will look to duplicate the success it had the last time it hosted an event - winning in its own tournament last fall.
The Cardinals posted record numbers en route to a first place finish at their own Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational in October. Ball State rallied past Austin Peay for the championship as two golfers broke the 18-hole school record in the final round.
Junior Andy Skillman carded a six-under par 64 at Delaware Country Club to break the Ball State record by one stroke. He held the record for just minutes before teammate and fellow junior Wayne Denger birdied the 18th hole for a final round 63.
"To see some of the numbers that we shot on a not so easy golf course was pretty impressive," Ball State coach Mike Fleck said. "It's always nice to play well at home and win your tournament, but for the guys to do it when there was some pressure was even more of a compliment to the team and their work ethic."
Ball State broke team records for low 18 holes (271 in the final round) and low 54 holes (824), beating Austin Peay by five shots. Three weeks later, the Cardinals closed the fall season at the 49er Collegiate Classic, climbing into third place in the final round.
"We kind of gained steam and momentum as we went through the fall season," Fleck said. "We played real well at our event, then carried it over and played in some really tough conditions against a really strong field at Charlotte and finished off the fall in the fashion that we wanted to."
Ball State will look to carry that momentum from the fall season into the spring. Seniors Patrick Wilkes-Krier and Brandon Boomsma anchor a BSU line-up that is primed to compete for a MAC Championship. Both have been significant contributors since they stepped on campus as freshmen.
Wilkes-Krier, who earned all-conference honors in 2005 and finished second in last summer's Michigan Amateur, has finished outside the top 30 only once in his last 12 collegiate events.
"Patrick is as solid a player as we have in our program in terms of consistency," Fleck said. "You know what you're going to get when he tees it up. It's nice to have someone like Patrick in the lineup because you know you're going to have a pretty good score posted."
In the fall season, Wilkes-Krier compiled a stroke average of 73 – second on the team behind Boomsma. Boomsma averaged 72.08 strokes per round in the fall, rebounding strongly from the 2005 spring season, in which he struggled to find his swing. He led the Cardinals at the season-ending 49er Collegiate Classic and fired three straight rounds of 70 to tie for ninth at the Yestingsmeier.
"Brandon's done a really good job of persevering," Fleck said. "He went through some mental challenges last spring, knowing that his game wasn't at the level that he expected it to be. For him to work extremely hard through the summer and come in and lead our team in scoring average like he did is a testament to the kind of person he is. We'll lean on those two guys this spring to go out and help us get the job done."
Juniors Denger, Skillman and C.D. Hockersmith round out the Cardinals' top lineup. Denger earned all-conference honors following the 2005 spring season, in which he finished as Ball State's low scorer in four consecutive tournaments. Skillman led the Cardinals last fall at both the Yestingsmeier and the Xavier Invitational.
Hockersmith was Ball State's top performer for the second straight season with a 12th place finish at last spring's MAC Championships, spring-boarding him into a productive summer. He qualified for a spot in the United States Amateur Public Links and advanced to the round of 32 before falling to Michelle Wie in the national spotlight.
Hockersmith continued his hot play to start the fall season, leading Ball State with a 14th place finish at the Hawkeye Intercollegiate. He rounded out the fall campaign by tying for 17th at the 49er Collegiate Classic. The three juniors each put together a stroke average between 74 and 75.
"I can't talk enough about the contributions those three guys have made," Fleck said. "Those three guys are as important, if not more important, to the mix as the two seniors because if we're talking about a team effort, we need all five of those guys contributing at a very high level for us to go out and have success."
The experienced crew of returning golfers will have the chance to play at a range of noteworthy golf courses. In March, the team will travel to Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina for the Pinehurst Invitational. In April, the Cardinals will play at two famous Ohio courses – Muirfield Village for Ohio State's Robert Kepler Invitational and Firestone Country Club for Akron's First Energy Intercollegiate.
"I wish I was teeing it up," Fleck said. "We've got an opportunity to play some very good golf courses. The experience that they're going to get out of playing in these events and courses is going to be second to none."
And Fleck hopes those courses and the competition at the spring tournaments will prepare his team for the MAC Championships at the famed Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis. With a group of accomplished collegiate golfers and the opportunity to host the event, Ball State's goal is simple: win the 2006 MAC Title.
"It's the goal," Fleck said. "I think we established that shortly after we finished up the MAC Championship last year in terms of what we want to try to accomplish this season."
