Ball State University Athletics
Cardinals Host MAC/A10 Challenge at Lake Jovita in South Florida
February 04, 2024 | Men's Golf
DADE CITY, Fla. – The Ball State men's golf team opens its spring calendar Monday and Tuesday in South Florida while hosting the MAC/A10 Challenge on the South Course of Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club.
The Cardinals welcome four Mid-American Conference teams and four from the Atlantic-10 Conference in a three-round, match play event that tees off the spring schedule. The Lake Jovita South Course course features a par 72, 7,153-yard track that will welcome MAC schools Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Ohio. Also joining the action are A-10 participants Dayton, George Washington, Loyola, and Richmond.
"I'm really excited to get this spring season going and especially with this match play format that we've hosted for many years," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck who continues his 26th season at the helm of the Cardinals program. "Lake Jovita is a great venue to conduct this event and our guys have been looking forward to this one since we wrapped up last fall. Match play is a great way for us to get the spring season going and as defending champs, we are excited to compete and see if we can put ourselves in that position again."
The top-seeded Cardinals lineup features Carter Smith and Kash Bellar in the top two positions. Both are returning All-MAC competitors at last year's MAC Men's Golf Championships and they finished first and second, respectively, in Ball State's Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational last September. Ali Khan and Braxton Kuntz, both part of a stellar junior class contingent on the Cardinals roster, compete from the third and fourth positions. Grad transfer Jensen Klondike makes his Ball State lineup debut this week at No. 5, and freshman Alec Cesare fills the sixth spot.
The two-day event consists of 54 holes of match play competition. Teams are seeded one through eight based upon fall rankings and then placed into a bracket. All teams are guaranteed three matches with losing teams from the first and second rounds continuing to compete in a consolation bracket. Each team match consists of six individual matches. Lineup order for each team is based upon individual player Golfweek rankings, with the top-rated player in the No. 1 position and so on.
Unlike stroke play, in which the unit of scoring is the total number of strokes taken over one or more rounds of golf, match play scoring consists of individual holes won, halved or lost. On each hole, the most that can be gained is one point. Golfers play as normal, counting the strokes taken on a given hole. The golfer with the lowest score on a given hole receives one point. If the golfers tie, then the hole is halved. Also, once a player is "up" more holes than there are holes remaining to play, the match is over.
The first round will begin Monday at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start, followed by continuous play for the second round. The third and final round will be played Tuesday, Feb. 6, with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Formerly known as the Mid-American Match Play as well as the Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play, the event has been played in honor of Earl Yestingsmeier, who passed away in Jan. 2014 at age 80. Yestingsmeier spent 36 seasons leading the Ball State men's golf program, including 31 in a dual role as sports information director and golf coach. He guided the Cardinals to 107 tournament titles and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure. For his success, he was enshrined in the Ball State Athletics, Golf Coaches Association and Indiana Golf halls of fame.
In the first round, the third-seeded Eagles will be matched with No. 6 Loyola. Live scoring and tournament results are be available HERE.
First Round Pairings - Monday, Feb. 5
Match 1: No. 8 Ohio vs. No. 1 Ball State
Match 2: No. 5 Dayton vs. No. 4 George Washington
Match 3: No. 6 Loyola vs. No. 3 Eastern Michigan
Match 4: No. 7 Central Michigan vs. No. 2 Richmond
Ball State Lineup
No. 1 – Carter Smith
No. 2 – Kash Bellar
No. 3 – Ali Khan
No. 4 – Braxton Kuntz
No. 5 – Jenson Klondike
No. 6 – Alec Cesare
Past Champions:
2012 – Ball State
2013 – Bowling Green
2014 – Ball State
2015 – Eastern Michigan / Toledo
2016 – Eastern Michigan
2017 – Notre Dame
2018 – Miami
2019 – Miami
2020 – Drake
2021 – Connecticut
2022 – Eastern Michigan
2023 – Ball State
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The Cardinals welcome four Mid-American Conference teams and four from the Atlantic-10 Conference in a three-round, match play event that tees off the spring schedule. The Lake Jovita South Course course features a par 72, 7,153-yard track that will welcome MAC schools Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Ohio. Also joining the action are A-10 participants Dayton, George Washington, Loyola, and Richmond.
"I'm really excited to get this spring season going and especially with this match play format that we've hosted for many years," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck who continues his 26th season at the helm of the Cardinals program. "Lake Jovita is a great venue to conduct this event and our guys have been looking forward to this one since we wrapped up last fall. Match play is a great way for us to get the spring season going and as defending champs, we are excited to compete and see if we can put ourselves in that position again."
The top-seeded Cardinals lineup features Carter Smith and Kash Bellar in the top two positions. Both are returning All-MAC competitors at last year's MAC Men's Golf Championships and they finished first and second, respectively, in Ball State's Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational last September. Ali Khan and Braxton Kuntz, both part of a stellar junior class contingent on the Cardinals roster, compete from the third and fourth positions. Grad transfer Jensen Klondike makes his Ball State lineup debut this week at No. 5, and freshman Alec Cesare fills the sixth spot.
The two-day event consists of 54 holes of match play competition. Teams are seeded one through eight based upon fall rankings and then placed into a bracket. All teams are guaranteed three matches with losing teams from the first and second rounds continuing to compete in a consolation bracket. Each team match consists of six individual matches. Lineup order for each team is based upon individual player Golfweek rankings, with the top-rated player in the No. 1 position and so on.
Unlike stroke play, in which the unit of scoring is the total number of strokes taken over one or more rounds of golf, match play scoring consists of individual holes won, halved or lost. On each hole, the most that can be gained is one point. Golfers play as normal, counting the strokes taken on a given hole. The golfer with the lowest score on a given hole receives one point. If the golfers tie, then the hole is halved. Also, once a player is "up" more holes than there are holes remaining to play, the match is over.
The first round will begin Monday at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start, followed by continuous play for the second round. The third and final round will be played Tuesday, Feb. 6, with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Formerly known as the Mid-American Match Play as well as the Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play, the event has been played in honor of Earl Yestingsmeier, who passed away in Jan. 2014 at age 80. Yestingsmeier spent 36 seasons leading the Ball State men's golf program, including 31 in a dual role as sports information director and golf coach. He guided the Cardinals to 107 tournament titles and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure. For his success, he was enshrined in the Ball State Athletics, Golf Coaches Association and Indiana Golf halls of fame.
In the first round, the third-seeded Eagles will be matched with No. 6 Loyola. Live scoring and tournament results are be available HERE.
First Round Pairings - Monday, Feb. 5
Match 1: No. 8 Ohio vs. No. 1 Ball State
Match 2: No. 5 Dayton vs. No. 4 George Washington
Match 3: No. 6 Loyola vs. No. 3 Eastern Michigan
Match 4: No. 7 Central Michigan vs. No. 2 Richmond
Ball State Lineup
No. 1 – Carter Smith
No. 2 – Kash Bellar
No. 3 – Ali Khan
No. 4 – Braxton Kuntz
No. 5 – Jenson Klondike
No. 6 – Alec Cesare
Past Champions:
2012 – Ball State
2013 – Bowling Green
2014 – Ball State
2015 – Eastern Michigan / Toledo
2016 – Eastern Michigan
2017 – Notre Dame
2018 – Miami
2019 – Miami
2020 – Drake
2021 – Connecticut
2022 – Eastern Michigan
2023 – Ball State
Follow the Cardinals
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