Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — Feb. 2017 | Player Leaderboard (PDF) | Team Leaderboard (PDF) | Updated Bracket (PDF)
PALM COAST, Fla. — Following a 3-1-2 victory over No. 9 seeded Indiana Friday morning in the first round of the 2017 Big Ten Match Play Championship, the University of Iowa men’s golf team defeated defending champion and No. 1 seed Michigan State, in the quarterfinals via a 3-3 tiebreaker. The two-day event is played at the Conservatory Course at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida.
“The guys played and competed really well today,” said UI assistant coach Jeff Schmid. “Raymond Knoll and Matthew Walker played extremely solid and were in control of both of their matches pretty much the entire day. Unfortunately, their opponents kind of came up and got them at the very end, forcing a halve by Ray and Matthew losing. In the long run I think this well help both of them, and I don’t think they will let that happen again.”
Three Hawkeyes posted wins during the first round against Indiana; sophomore Matthew Walker highlighted the Hawkeye lineup, quickly defeating Brock Ochsenreiter, 6-and-5. Senior Raymond Knoll defeated Keegan Vea, 2-and-1, while freshman Ryoto Furuya topped Andrew Havill, 4-and-3, to advance Iowa into the second round to face Michigan State.
Senior Carson Schaake halved both matches today, while freshman Alex Schaake tied his first-round match and fought back from a four-down deficit through 10 holes to knock off Michigan State’s Andrew Walker, finishing 2-up in the second round.
After a back and forth battle, Indiana’s Christian Fairbanks pulled off a 2-up victory over junior Sam Meuret. In the second round against Michigan State, Meuret locked up the first point for the Hawkeyes after a 4-and-3 victory over Charlie Green.
Freshman Alex Moorman and Walker fell in the second round against Michigan State, 3-and-2, and 1-up respectively.
Knoll halved his match against Austin Jenner, ultimately winning the tiebreaker for the Hawkeyes to advance to the semifinals.
“Probably the biggest highlight of the day was Alex Schaake coming back from being four down on the front nine,” added Schmid. “He went on to win six holes on the back nine and that win was the deciding factor. Carson Schaake grinded all day to halve both of his matches and Sam Meuret had a great win in the afternoon.”
The Hawkeyes will face No. 5 seeded Penn State on Saturday morning in the third round at 7 a.m. (CT). If Iowa wins, they will face No. 3 seed Northwestern or No. 7 seed Minnesota in the final round. Live stats are available for all of Saturday’s action at golfstat.com.
Round 1: Iowa 3, Indiana 1
1) Ryoto Furuya (Iowa) def. Andrew Havill (Indiana), 4-and-3
2) Alex Schaake (Iowa) drew Jake Brown (Indiana), AS
3) Matthew Walker (Iowa) def. Brock Ochsenreiter (Indiana), 6-and-5
4) Carson Schaake (Iowa) drew Brendon Doyle (Indiana), AS
5) Christian Fairbanks (Indiana) def. Sam Meuret (Iowa), 2-up
6) Raymond Knoll (Iowa) def. Keegan Vea (Indiana), 2-and-1
Quarterfinals: Iowa 3, Michigan State 3 — Iowa won tiebreaker
1) Alex Schaake (Iowa) def. Andrew Walker (Michigan State), 2-up
2) Michael Sharp (Michigan State) def. Alex Moorman (Iowa), 3-and-2
3) Charlie Netzel (Michigan State) drew Carson Schaake (Iowa), AS
4) Kaleb Johnson (Michigan State) def. Matthew Walker (Iowa), 1-up
5) Austin Jenner (Michigan State) drew Raymond Knoll (Iowa), AS
6) Sam Meuret (Iowa) def. Charlie Green (Michigan State), 4-and-3
