Feb. 14, 2009
Coral Springs, FL – The University of Iowa men’s golf team dropped two close matches Saturday at the Big Ten Match Play Championships to finish in eighth place. Its first loss came from Northwestern, 3.5-2.5, followed by a 4-2 loss to Wisconsin that went down to the final hole.
Freshman Barrett Kelpin picked up his second win of the weekend in the Northwestern match with a 2-up victory over Jonathan Bowers. Sophomore Brad Hopfinger won, 2 and 1, over Andy DeKeuster. Iowa received its half-point in a draw between senior Cole Peevler and Northwestern’s David Lipsky. Sophomore Vince India lost his match, 4 and 3, to Eric Chun, while freshmen Brad George and Chris Brant both lost their matches 1-up to Josh Dupont and Matt Denison, respectively.
In the loss to Wisconsin Iowa received wins from both George (5 and 3) and India (4 and 3). Brant and Hopfinger both lost, 1-up, while Kelpin lost, 4 and 3, and Peevler was defeated, 5 and 3.
“I thought we played two good matches today, but obviously we are disappointed with three losses this weekend,” said head coach Mark Hankins. “It was good experience. We know that everyone has a lot of work to do.”
Indiana won the Big Ten’s inaugural event with a 3.5-2.5 victory over Michigan, the team that beat the Hawkeyes in the quarterfinals. Michigan State topped Illinois 4-2 for third place and Northwestern beat Purdue, 3-3 (criteria), to finish fifth. The Hawkeyes compete next on March 20-22 at the EZ-GO Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, GA.