Eastern Michigan Athletics

Tuesday, February 6
Dade City, Fla.
All Day

Eastern Michigan University

at

MAC/A-10 Match Play Challenge

EMU Men's Golf at MAC/A10 Match Play

Men’s Golf Falls to Ball State in Finale of MAC/A10 Challenge

2/6/2024 5:20:00 PM | Men's Golf

No. 3-seeded Eastern Michigan went 2-1 in the event to finish as the runner-up

Complete Results.

DADE CITY, Fla. (EMUEagles.com)
— The Eastern Michigan University men's golf team came up short in the championship match of the MAC/A10 Challenge Tuesday, Feb. 6. The third-seeded Eagles were downed by No. 1 Ball State University, 5-1, on the par 72, 7,153-yard Lake Jovita Golf Course.

The Cardinals took five of the six head-to-head competitions, earning the event title for the second straight year and the fourth time in 13 seasons. No. 2-seeded Richmond dispatched George Washington, 4-2, in a third-place match. Dayton used a tiebreaker following a 3-3 draw to earn a fifth-place finish over Central Michigan, and Ohio got past Loyola, 4-2, for seventh place in a tournament pitting four schools from the MAC and four from the Atlantic-10 Conference.

Junior Zander Gibson (Concord, Ohio/ Notre Dame Cathedral Latin/Rider) was the only EMU player to go undefeated, posting a 3-0 mark. In the opener against Loyola, he rolled to a 1 up victory and followed it up with a 5&4 win over Richmond in the second round. In the championship, Gibson finished off Ball State's Alec Cesare, 3&2.

How It Happened
» Schools are competing in teams of six with the seeds determined by their current rankings. Each of the six matches is worth one point to the winner. If the competitors end up all-square after 18 holes, each school receives ½ point. The school with the most points after the six matches wins.
» Unlike stroke play, in which the unit of scoring is the total number of strokes taken over one or more rounds of golf, match play scoring consists of individual holes won, halved, or lost. On each hole, the most that can be gained is one point. Golfers play as normal, counting the strokes taken on a given hole. The golfer with the lowest score on a given hole receives one point. If the golfers tie, then the hole is halved. Also, once a player is "up" more holes than holes are remaining to play, the match is over.
» Over two days and 54 holes of competition, EMU golfers won eight out of 18 matches against competitors from Loyola, Richmond, and Ball State.
» All-time at the event, Head Coach Bruce Cunningham's crew has posted a 17-9-6 record in match play.

Up Next
Eastern Michigan returns to traditional stroke play Feb. 25-26 at the Loyola Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz.

Opening Round
No. 3 EMU def. No. 6 Loyola, 3.5-2.5
Cam Kellett (EMU) def Zach Walsh (LU), 5&3
Sebastian Kasun (LU) def. Avery Mahoney (EMU), 2&1
Ryan Somerville (EMU) halved with Charlie Kulwin (LU)
Patrick Deardorff (EMU) def. Jackson Overton (LU), 7&6
Ryan Walsh (LU) def. Nathaniel Gray Lamont (EMU), 5&3
Zander Gibson (EMU) def. Zach Mulhearn (LU), 1 up

Other First Round Results
No. Ball State def. No. 8 Ohio, 5-1
No. 4 George Washington def. No. 5 Dayton, 3.5-1.5
No. 2 Richmond def. No. 7 Central Michigan, 5-1

Semifinal Round
No. 3 Eastern Michigan def. No. 2 Richmond, 4.5-1.5
Cam Kellett (EMU) def Cole Ekert (RICH), 4&3
Avery Mahoney (EMU) def. Lou Baker (RICH), 3&2
Patrick Isztwan (RICH) def. Ryan Somerville (EMU), 5&3
Patrick Deardorff (EMU) halved with Drew Carlin (RICH)
Nathaniel Gray Lamont (EMU) def. Jack LaPiana (RICH), 1 up
Zander Gibson (EMU) def. Quin Polin (RICH), 5&4

Other Semifinal Results
No. Ball State def. No. 4 George Washington, 5-1
No. 5 Dayton def. No. 8 Ohio, 4-2
No. 7 Central Michigan def. No. 6 Loyola, 5-1

Final Round Pairings
Championship: No. 1 Ball State def. No. 3 Eastern Michigan, 4-1
3rd Place: No. 2 Richmond def. No. 4 George Washington, 4-2
5th Place: No. 7 Central Michigan tied with No. 5 Dayton (UD advanced on tiebreakers)
7th Place: No. 8 Ohio def. No. 6 Loyola, 4-2

Championship Round
No. 1 Ball State def. No. 3 Eastern Michigan, 5-1
Carter Smith (BALL) def. Cam Kellett (EMU), 3&2
Kash Bellar (BALL) def. Avery Mahoney (EMU), 3&2
Ali Khan (BALL) def. Ryan Somerville (EMU), 3&2
Braxton Kuntz (EMU) def. Patrick Deardorff (EMU), 5&4
Jensen Klondike (BALL) def. Nathaniel Gray Lamont (EMU), 3&2
Zander Gibson (EMU) def. Alec Cesare (BALL), 3&2
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