Ball State University Athletics
Tuesday, February 6
Dade City, FL
All Day
Ball State University
5
vs
1
Eastern Michigan University
Repeat Champs! Cardinals Dominant in Championship Match of MAC/A-10 Challenge
February 06, 2024 | Men's Golf
DADE CITY, Fla. – The Ball State men's golf team captured its first championship of the 2024 spring season while dominating the final round of match play at the MAC/A-10 Challenge, played on the 7,153-yard South Course at Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club. Five out of six Cardinals golfers won their head-to-head competitions against their Mid-American Conference rivals from Eastern Michigan, earning the event title for the second straight year and the fourth time in 13 seasons.
Over two days and 54 holes of competition, Ball State golfers won 13 out of 18 matches against competitors from Ohio, George Washington and Eastern Michigan. Playing out of the No. 1 position for the top-seeded Cardinals, Carter Smith won all three of his matches on the par-72 course, with his five teammates each winning two of out of three.
Besides Ball State's 5-1 win over the Eagles, No. 2-seeded Richmond dispatched George Washington 4-2 in a third-place match on Tuesday. Dayton used a tiebreaker following a 3-3 draw to earn a fifth-place finish over Central Michigan, and Ohio got past Loyola 4-2 for seventh place in a tournament pitting four schools from the MAC and four from the Atlantic-10 Conference.
"I'm really proud of the dominating final-round performance from the team today," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck. "We got up early in most all the matches and closed strong. These guys have done a great job preparing over the off season."
In the match-play format with each golfer earning one point for head-to-head victories on each hole, Smith earned his three victories while completing just 46 of 54 holes of play. He posted a 5&4 win (5-up with four holes remaining) over Will Kates of Ohio and a 3&2 victory over Jakub Hrinda of George Washington during Monday's rounds. Tuesday, he earned a 3&2 triumph of EMU's Cam Kellett.
Occupying the No. 1 position for the top-seeded team in all three rounds, Smith won his three matches against every team's top player without ever playing the 17th and 18th holes.
On Tuesday, none of Ball State's six matches ever reached their 17th hole. Kash Bellar, Ali Khan and Jensen Klondike all notched 3&2 victories, and Braxton Kuntz scored a 5&4 win without reaching the 15th hole. Alec Cesare, who won each of his first two matches, sustained a 3&2 setback on Tuesday.
Fleck added, "Our goal this week was to compete hard and be in a position to repeat. This was a complete team effort and a great way to start the spring season."
Final results are available HERE.
Ball State Lineup and Round-by-Round Results
No. 1 – Carter Smith | W5&4 | W3&2 | W3&2
No. 2 – Kash Bellar | W5&4 | L3&2 | W3&2
No. 3 – Ali Khan | L1down | W2&1 | W3&2
No. 4 – Braxton Kuntz | L2down | W2up | W5&4
No. 5 – Jensen Klondike | W2&1 | L4&2 | W3&2
No. 6 – Alec Cesare | W5&4 | W4&3 | L3&2
Annual 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
2024 – Ball State
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Over two days and 54 holes of competition, Ball State golfers won 13 out of 18 matches against competitors from Ohio, George Washington and Eastern Michigan. Playing out of the No. 1 position for the top-seeded Cardinals, Carter Smith won all three of his matches on the par-72 course, with his five teammates each winning two of out of three.
Besides Ball State's 5-1 win over the Eagles, No. 2-seeded Richmond dispatched George Washington 4-2 in a third-place match on Tuesday. Dayton used a tiebreaker following a 3-3 draw to earn a fifth-place finish over Central Michigan, and Ohio got past Loyola 4-2 for seventh place in a tournament pitting four schools from the MAC and four from the Atlantic-10 Conference.
"I'm really proud of the dominating final-round performance from the team today," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck. "We got up early in most all the matches and closed strong. These guys have done a great job preparing over the off season."
In the match-play format with each golfer earning one point for head-to-head victories on each hole, Smith earned his three victories while completing just 46 of 54 holes of play. He posted a 5&4 win (5-up with four holes remaining) over Will Kates of Ohio and a 3&2 victory over Jakub Hrinda of George Washington during Monday's rounds. Tuesday, he earned a 3&2 triumph of EMU's Cam Kellett.
Occupying the No. 1 position for the top-seeded team in all three rounds, Smith won his three matches against every team's top player without ever playing the 17th and 18th holes.
On Tuesday, none of Ball State's six matches ever reached their 17th hole. Kash Bellar, Ali Khan and Jensen Klondike all notched 3&2 victories, and Braxton Kuntz scored a 5&4 win without reaching the 15th hole. Alec Cesare, who won each of his first two matches, sustained a 3&2 setback on Tuesday.
Fleck added, "Our goal this week was to compete hard and be in a position to repeat. This was a complete team effort and a great way to start the spring season."
Final results are available HERE.
Ball State Lineup and Round-by-Round Results
No. 1 – Carter Smith | W5&4 | W3&2 | W3&2
No. 2 – Kash Bellar | W5&4 | L3&2 | W3&2
No. 3 – Ali Khan | L1down | W2&1 | W3&2
No. 4 – Braxton Kuntz | L2down | W2up | W5&4
No. 5 – Jensen Klondike | W2&1 | L4&2 | W3&2
No. 6 – Alec Cesare | W5&4 | W4&3 | L3&2
Annual 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
2024 – Ball State
Follow the Cardinals
Players Mentioned
Sports Link // Cardinal Conversations with Carter Smith & Jeff Mitchell
Tuesday, March 17
Heart of the Cardinal Podcast // Guests: Mike Fleck and Alauna Simms
Monday, December 15
Heart of the Cardinal Podcast // Mike Fleck on Program Approach
Saturday, December 13
Sports Link: International Student Athlete Day
Monday, November 17