Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
The Match Play
Men's Golf Reaches Finals at Tampa Match Play
February 13, 2011 | Men's Golf
Ball State's men's golf team reached the finals at The Match Play at TPC of Tampa, after defeating South Florida, St. John's and Xavier, but fell to Kennesaw State 3-2 in the championship match of the 36-hole match play event.
In the championship match, Joe Gasser was the lone victor for the Cardinals after posting a 4 and 3 win over Jonathan Klotz. Eric Steger and Tyler Merkel each halved their matches over Matt Nagy and Peder Hermansson, respectively. TJ Carpenter suffered a 4 and 3 loss to Chad Wilson and Tony Lazzara fell 5 and 4 to Ben Greene.
Kennesaw State won the event with a 4-0 record, while the Cardinals finished 3-1.
Ball State defeated South Florida 3.5 to 1.5 in the opening round match after Steger birdied his final three holes to secure the win. Steger won his match 2 and 1, Merkel won 4 and 2 and Lazzara won 3 and 2. Carpenter finished his match all square and Gasser lost 3 and 2.
The Cardinals tied St. John's 2.5 to 2.5, but claimed the victory due to the tournament's tiebreaker procedure. Steger posted a 6 and 4 win vs. St. John's, while Gasser, Merkel and Carpenter each tied. Lazzara suffered a 3 and 1 loss in the second round match.
Ball State handed Xavier a 4 and 1 loss in the semifinals to advance to the championship match. Against Xavier, Gasser won 5 and 4, Carpenter won 6 and 5, Lazzara won 4 and 2 and Merkel won 2 and 1. Steger lost 3 and 2 in the Xavier match.
Joining Ball State at the event were Notre Dame, Villanova, Xavier, Cincinnati, Campbell, Kennesaw State, Cleveland State, Loyola Maryland, Connecticut, St. John's, Charleston Southern, Marquette, Morehead State and co-hosts DePaul and USF.
