LANCASTER, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University men's golf program competed in the Bill Blazer Invitational over the weekend. The Cardinals took fifth out of eight teams in the match play tournament, dropping their first match and winning the next two. SVSU fell 3-2 to Malone before defeating Thomas More on Saturday and Kentucky Wesleyan on Sunday, both with scores of 4-1 at the Lancaster Golf Club.
Evan Klein won all three of his matches while Garrett Morrison, Tony Spicuzza, and Ben Yono won two of their three matches. Dominik Dostal rounded out the team going 1-for-3 on the weekend.
Morrison took his match against the Pioneers on Saturday as he was up five with four holes remaining while Klein finished up two with one to play. Spicuzza and Yono lost their matches by one with Yono sending his match to a playoff after winning the 18th hole. Dostal dropped his match by two.
In the second match of the day, Klein dominated against the Saints, winning his match up four with three left. Dostal also won without finishing the full round as he was up two with the last hole to play. Spicuzza carded a par on the final hole in comparison to his opponent's bogey to win the match and claim the third point for SVSU. Yono won his match and Dostal lost his by the same score of three up with two to play.
Saginaw Valley had their best performance on Sunday against the Panthers. Klein and Spicuzza both won their matches by four points with three left to play, including a par five for Spicuzza that he eagled to beat the birdie by his opponent. Morrison sealed the victory for the Cardinals winning his match by three with two to play. After Morrison's win, Yono and Dostal's rounds ended with Yono up three with three to play and Dostal down three with four holes remaining.
On the individual side, Jorge Basterra tied for third out of 18 golfers. Over two rounds, Basterra carded a 76 (+4) and 77 (+5) to finish with a 153 (+9). He totaled seven birdies with five in the second round and compiled 17 pars.
As a team, the Cardinals were tied for the best performances on par threes, finishing nine over to tie Wayne State. However, the Cardinals averaged the lowest strokes per par three with an average of 3.19. Spicuzza carded the Cardinals only eagle on one of the five over the entire tournament.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley men's golf has a quick turnaround to get ready for the GLIAC Championships. The conference tournament starts Thursday, April 16 and goes through Friday, April 17 at Stoatin Brae Golf Club in Augusta, Mich.