March 18, 2012
BRADENTON, Fla. – The University of Iowa men’s golf team advanced to the consolation semifinals at the Callaway Collegiate Match-Play Championship with a win over Washington State Sunday evening. The eighth-seeded Hawkeyes dropped their opening round match-up against East Carolina before topping Washington State, 3-2. Competition was held on The Concession Golf Course, a par 72, 7,474-yard layout in Bradenton, Fla.
Iowa’s opening round match against ninth-seeded East Carolina ended in a 2-2-1 tie before the Pirates won in the margin of victory tiebreaker, six holes to five. Senior Barrett Kelpin competed from Iowa’s number one spot and finished his match-up all square through 18. Sophomore Steven Ihm earned a point for the Hawkeyes by defeating ECU’s Adam Stephenson, 3&1. Senior Chris Brant also scored a point for Iowa, posting a 2&1 victory over David Watkins in the third spot.
Freshmen Ian Vandersee and Brian Bullington golfed from the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Vandersee dropped a 3&2 decision to Ryan Eibner as Bullington fell, 3&1 to ECU’s Eric Brady.
“It was nice to see some consistency from the top of our lineup to begin this morning,” said Head Coach Mark Hankins. “Chris [Brant] really took care of his match and Steven [Ihm] did the same. With a draw from [Barrett] Kelpin, we were nearly able to advance with a win.”
Kelpin recorded just his second match-play loss of the spring season when he fell in the second round to Washington State’s Sang Lee, 3&1. Ihm and Brant both picked up win number two in Iowa’s consolation match. Ihm defeated Trent Sanders, 2&1, while Brant finished with a 2 UP victory over WSU’s Hank Frame. The Hawkeye’s third point came in the form of a 3&2 decision from Vandersee, their most dominating win through two matches. Additionally, Bullington dropped his second match, 4&2.
“We fought back and played better this afternoon,” said Hankins. “We took care of business against Washington State and we will need similar efforts the next two days to continue our winning ways.”
Third round action will continue from The Concession Golf Course beginning at 7:30 a.m. (CT) Monday. Iowa is set to face 13th-seeded Colorado State in the consolation semifinals. Fans can follow the matches live on the tournament central page at www.collegiatematchplay.com.
(9) East Carolina def. (8) Iowa, 2-2-1 (tiebreaker: 6-5)
Barrett Kelpin ties Harold Varner, (all square)
Steven Ihm def. Adam Stephenson, 3&1
Chris Brant def. David Watkins, 2&1
Ryan Eibner def. Ian Vandersee, 3&2
Eric Brady def. Brian Bullington, 3&1
(8) Iowa def. (16) Washington State, 3-2
Sang Lee def. Barrett Kelpin, 3&1
Steven Ihm def. Trent Sanders, 2&1
Chris Brant def. Hank Frame, 2 UP
Ian Vandersee def. Michael Anderson, 3&2
Kent Hagen def. Brian Bullington, 4&2