#3 Eagles Win 9th Straight National Tournament Qualifier
Waterloo, IA- The #3 Kirkwood Eagles traveled to Waterloo this Monday and Tuesday to compete in the North Central District Championship. The Eagles were familiar with the Gates Park Golf Course after playing there just a few weeks prior in the Waterloo Intercollegiate Tournament. The top three teams from this tournament would go on to compete in the NJCAA DII Men's Golf Championship in Joplin, MO at Twin Hills Golf & Country Club from May 21-24th. The Eagles are the defending national champions so a solid placement here would mean a shot at a title defense for them.
The field was comprised of 13 teams with familiar opponents such as DMACC, Iowa Central, Northeast, Iowa Lakes, and Hawkeye to name a few. The Eagles 5 golfers included Grant Grezel, Nate Offerman, Frank Haege, Leo Burger, and Nathan Bratanata. The first round on Monday was comprised of 36 holes on the Par 72, 6984 yard Gates Park Golf Course. Frank Haege would get out to a quick and efficient start for the Eagles. The seasoned sophomore would birdie holes 5 and 7 to shoot two under (70) on the front nine and would shoot an even (36) on the back. He would then follow up with a 2 over (74) on his next 18 to put him at a team low (E) after 36 holes. However, two teammates wouldn't be far behind. Nathan Bratanata and Nathan Offerman would shoot the exact same first 18 and second 18 with a (71) and (75). This two over would be good enough to put both golfers in a tie for fifth place after the first day. As a team, Kirkwood would shoot a 586 (+10) that had them sitting in first place overall.
With 18 holes left to play on Tuesday, Kirkwood was looking to maintain its lead over the field. Three Eagles would shoot under par in the last round, cementing their place in the North Central District Championship. Grant Greazel would end up shooting a one under (71) that would take him from 19th place all the way down to 13th place. Offerman would shoot the team low on the day with a three under (69) that would take him all the way up to a tie for second place overall. Offerman would shoot three under on the back nine with 4 birdies and 1 bogey. Haege would also finish in a tie for second place with a one under final round consisting of 5 birdies and 4 bogeys. Bratanata would finish with a one over (73) to come in sixth place. That would put three Eagles in the top ten of the championship. Kirkwood would shoot a tournament low of 284 to put itself at 870 (+6) for the tournament, good enough for 1st place a 15 stroke lead over the next closest team in 2nd, DMACC.
With this win, Kirkwood has now won its 9th straight national tournament qualifier under head coach Darin Pint. They will be heading back to the national tournament to defend their title.
