Tuesday, February 11
Dade City, FL
All Day
Ball State University
3.0
vs
3.0
University of Richmond
Photo by: Collin Phillips/Ball State Athletics
Khan And Kuntz Pace Cardinals To Third Consecutive Match Play Championship
February 11, 2025 | Men's Golf
DADE CITY, Fla. – Ali Khan and Braxton Kuntz anchored the Ball State men's golf lineup with match victories by three holes, apiece, on Tuesday, leading the Cardinals to a 7-6 tiebreak win over Richmond in the championship match of The Match Play 2025.
Conducted on the South Course of Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club, the Cardinals' victory marked the third straight year that Ball State defeated all challengers in an annual match play event that has been conducted since 2012. The Cardinals and top-seeded Spiders were tied after 18 holes with each team winning three matches, but Khan, Kuntz and a one-hole win by Avery Mahoney produced a 7-hole margin in their wins, compared to just a 6-hole margin in Richmond's combined wins.
Ball State needed a 7-5 tiebreak to get past Dayton in Monday's semifinal round. The Cardinals bested Evansville 5-1 in an opening-round win.
Khan was the Cardinals' hottest golfer on Tuesday, firing 3-under par over 17 holes during a 3&1 victory – winning by three holes before the match was conceded with one hole to play. Mahoney fired 3-under par over 18 holes as part of a 1-up win. He took his final lead in the match with only two holes remaining to help clinch a dramatic finish.
Kuntz, meanwhile, joined Khan in winning matches in each of three rounds during Ball State's spring opener. Playing out of Ball State's No. 2 position, he was dominant with 6&5 and 5&4 wins against Evansville and Dayton, respectively, on Monday. In the championship against Richmond, he beat Carson Baez with a 3&2 win. Over the three-round match-play tournament, Kuntz dispatched his opponents by completing just 43 total holes – 13 in Round 1, 14 in Round 2 and 16 in the championship.
Khan, playing at No. 4 for Ball State, earned 6&5, 2&1 and 3&1 match-play wins. Kuntz won his three matches by 14 total holes and Khan won his by 11.
"The guys did a great job this week, with Braxton and Ali leading the way," said 27th-year head coach Mike Fleck. "I was proud of the fight the team showed when things got tight. Match play is an emotional rollercoaster and handling your emotions is part of the execution part of the process of putting points on the board. This is a good way to pick up where we left off in the fall, now it's time to get prepared for Puerto Rico in a couple of weeks."
While Kuntz and Khan were dominant head-to-head, Carter Smith battled each team's top player out of Ball State's No. 1 position. After a 1-up win over Andres Rodriguez of Evansville in which he shot 2-over par, Smith shot 1-under par in each of his final rounds despite losing matches against Dayton and Richmond.
Freshman Gavin Hare finished 1-2 out of the No. 3 lineup spot and fellow freshman Happy Gilmore finished 1-1-1. Mahoney, playing in the No. 6 position, was also 1-1-1 and used his best moment to clinch the Cardinals' tiebreak title.
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Conducted on the South Course of Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club, the Cardinals' victory marked the third straight year that Ball State defeated all challengers in an annual match play event that has been conducted since 2012. The Cardinals and top-seeded Spiders were tied after 18 holes with each team winning three matches, but Khan, Kuntz and a one-hole win by Avery Mahoney produced a 7-hole margin in their wins, compared to just a 6-hole margin in Richmond's combined wins.
Ball State needed a 7-5 tiebreak to get past Dayton in Monday's semifinal round. The Cardinals bested Evansville 5-1 in an opening-round win.
Khan was the Cardinals' hottest golfer on Tuesday, firing 3-under par over 17 holes during a 3&1 victory – winning by three holes before the match was conceded with one hole to play. Mahoney fired 3-under par over 18 holes as part of a 1-up win. He took his final lead in the match with only two holes remaining to help clinch a dramatic finish.
Kuntz, meanwhile, joined Khan in winning matches in each of three rounds during Ball State's spring opener. Playing out of Ball State's No. 2 position, he was dominant with 6&5 and 5&4 wins against Evansville and Dayton, respectively, on Monday. In the championship against Richmond, he beat Carson Baez with a 3&2 win. Over the three-round match-play tournament, Kuntz dispatched his opponents by completing just 43 total holes – 13 in Round 1, 14 in Round 2 and 16 in the championship.
Khan, playing at No. 4 for Ball State, earned 6&5, 2&1 and 3&1 match-play wins. Kuntz won his three matches by 14 total holes and Khan won his by 11.
"The guys did a great job this week, with Braxton and Ali leading the way," said 27th-year head coach Mike Fleck. "I was proud of the fight the team showed when things got tight. Match play is an emotional rollercoaster and handling your emotions is part of the execution part of the process of putting points on the board. This is a good way to pick up where we left off in the fall, now it's time to get prepared for Puerto Rico in a couple of weeks."
While Kuntz and Khan were dominant head-to-head, Carter Smith battled each team's top player out of Ball State's No. 1 position. After a 1-up win over Andres Rodriguez of Evansville in which he shot 2-over par, Smith shot 1-under par in each of his final rounds despite losing matches against Dayton and Richmond.
Freshman Gavin Hare finished 1-2 out of the No. 3 lineup spot and fellow freshman Happy Gilmore finished 1-1-1. Mahoney, playing in the No. 6 position, was also 1-1-1 and used his best moment to clinch the Cardinals' tiebreak title.
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