Friday, April 26
Aurora, Ohio (Walden CC)
All Day
Ball State University
at
MAC Championships
Photo by: Jeff Harwell
Wide Open MAC Championships Await Men’s Golf at Club Walden
April 25, 2019 | Men's Golf
Cardinals enter tournament as league’s third-highest rated team
A wide open field, a bit of an unknown venue and a roster of golfers trending in the right direction. The Ball State men's golf team is hoping that formula adds up to a MAC Championship by weekend's end.
The action begins Friday in Aurora, Ohio, at Club Walden, a first-time tournament venue. Perennial favorite Kent State is the host but does not play the course regularly. And while still good, this year's Golden Flashes are not a dominant top-25 team like they regularly seem to be.
That leaves any number of teams thinking they can win. And with good reason, Ball State is near the top of that list. The Cardinals feature a one-two punch capable of matching anyone in the league and some young golfers peaking at the right time.
Timothy Wiseman and Jack Cunningham return from last year's team that held the lead over Kent State deep into the back nine of the final round. Wiseman tied for third after leading during that last day.
Keegan Bronnenberg, who sat out last season as a transfer, leads this year's squad with a 72.58 scoring average. If the season ended today, both he and Wiseman (72.88) would rank among the top 5 in school history for a single season.
Freshman Joey Ranieri has been the hottest Ball State player of late, with four of his nine rounds this month in the 60's. And CJ Jones is getting back to the golf he played mid-year when he was as good as anyone on the roster.
Freshman Yianni Kostouros also makes the trip this week as a potential substitute. A recently adopted rule change by the NCAA and a good number of conferences allows substitutions during championship events. Coaches will be able to swap players in and out of their lineups between rounds if they wish.
Before the first tee ball of Friday's 36-hole day hits the air, this year's edition of the MAC Championships appears to be more wide open than almost any over the past 11 years, a period that has seen Kent State win 10 times.
More wide open than last year when the Cardinals nearly upset the 25th-ranked Golden Flashes. Probably more wide open than in 2013 when both Ball State and Kent State reached the NCAA Championships.
Perhaps the only year more wide open was 2015 when Miami emerged from a balanced field by eight shots over Toledo and Johnny Watts claimed the individual title as a Ball State freshman.
Kent State is still the highest-rated team in the field, but Eastern Michigan isn't all that far behind, and the trio of Ball State, Miami and Northern Illinois is within shouting distance. The Cardinals edged the Golden Flashes each of the past two weeks at the Boilermaker Invitational and Kepler Intercollegiate, while Toledo led all five MAC teams competing at the Kepler.
By the end of 72 holes this weekend at Club Walden, one of the league's nine teams will hold the championship trophy and a ticket to an NCAA Regional.
Tournament Location
Club Walden (Aurora, Ohio)
Schedule
Friday, April 26 – 8:30 a.m. split tee start (36 holes)
Saturday, April 27 – 8:30 a.m. split tee start
Sunday, April 28 – 8:30 a.m. split tee start
Full Field (Golfstat ranking)
Kent State (89), Eastern Michigan (109), Ball State (138), Miami (139), Northern Illinois (140), Bowling Green (163), Toledo (169), Akron (196), Ohio (197)
Ball State Lineup
1. Timothy Wiseman (Sr.)
2. Keegan Bronnenberg (R-So.)
3. Joey Ranieri (Fr.)
4. CJ Jones (So.)
5. Jack Cunningham (So.)
Sub: Yianni Kostouros (Fr.)
The action begins Friday in Aurora, Ohio, at Club Walden, a first-time tournament venue. Perennial favorite Kent State is the host but does not play the course regularly. And while still good, this year's Golden Flashes are not a dominant top-25 team like they regularly seem to be.
That leaves any number of teams thinking they can win. And with good reason, Ball State is near the top of that list. The Cardinals feature a one-two punch capable of matching anyone in the league and some young golfers peaking at the right time.
Timothy Wiseman and Jack Cunningham return from last year's team that held the lead over Kent State deep into the back nine of the final round. Wiseman tied for third after leading during that last day.
Keegan Bronnenberg, who sat out last season as a transfer, leads this year's squad with a 72.58 scoring average. If the season ended today, both he and Wiseman (72.88) would rank among the top 5 in school history for a single season.
Freshman Joey Ranieri has been the hottest Ball State player of late, with four of his nine rounds this month in the 60's. And CJ Jones is getting back to the golf he played mid-year when he was as good as anyone on the roster.
Freshman Yianni Kostouros also makes the trip this week as a potential substitute. A recently adopted rule change by the NCAA and a good number of conferences allows substitutions during championship events. Coaches will be able to swap players in and out of their lineups between rounds if they wish.
Before the first tee ball of Friday's 36-hole day hits the air, this year's edition of the MAC Championships appears to be more wide open than almost any over the past 11 years, a period that has seen Kent State win 10 times.
More wide open than last year when the Cardinals nearly upset the 25th-ranked Golden Flashes. Probably more wide open than in 2013 when both Ball State and Kent State reached the NCAA Championships.
Perhaps the only year more wide open was 2015 when Miami emerged from a balanced field by eight shots over Toledo and Johnny Watts claimed the individual title as a Ball State freshman.
Kent State is still the highest-rated team in the field, but Eastern Michigan isn't all that far behind, and the trio of Ball State, Miami and Northern Illinois is within shouting distance. The Cardinals edged the Golden Flashes each of the past two weeks at the Boilermaker Invitational and Kepler Intercollegiate, while Toledo led all five MAC teams competing at the Kepler.
By the end of 72 holes this weekend at Club Walden, one of the league's nine teams will hold the championship trophy and a ticket to an NCAA Regional.
Tournament Location
Club Walden (Aurora, Ohio)
Schedule
Friday, April 26 – 8:30 a.m. split tee start (36 holes)
Saturday, April 27 – 8:30 a.m. split tee start
Sunday, April 28 – 8:30 a.m. split tee start
Full Field (Golfstat ranking)
Kent State (89), Eastern Michigan (109), Ball State (138), Miami (139), Northern Illinois (140), Bowling Green (163), Toledo (169), Akron (196), Ohio (197)
Ball State Lineup
1. Timothy Wiseman (Sr.)
2. Keegan Bronnenberg (R-So.)
3. Joey Ranieri (Fr.)
4. CJ Jones (So.)
5. Jack Cunningham (So.)
Sub: Yianni Kostouros (Fr.)
Players Mentioned
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