The Eastern Michigan women’s golf team tied Ball State for fourth place in the MAC Championships this weekend at Purgatory Golf Club in Noblesville, Ind. The men’s team finished in a tie with Nebraska for 10th place out of 13 teams in the Hawkeye Invitational at Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City. The women’s track team competed in the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif. from April 18-19.
Men’s and Women’s Golf:
It was a historic weekend for the women’s team. They shot 923 for the tournament and a team 291 in the final round, their fourth lowest score ever in a round for the program. Preaw Sripatrprasite and Maria Connelly tied for 19th place individually, shooting a score of 228. Sripatrprasite had a final round score of -1, and Connelly shot even par on the final eighteen holes.
Kent State won the championship with a weekend score of 860. It is their 21st consecutive conference trophy, dominating the MAC since women’s golf entered as a sport. Sunday was a 36-hole total as Saturday’s weather forced second round play to be postponed.
The men’s team competed against power five schools over the weekend. Three of them ranked in the country’s top 50: No. 30 Illinois, No. 31 Kansas, and No. 43 Iowa. Ty Celone led the team with a score of 212, which put him finished tied for 22nd place. It was his seventh top-25 appearance of the year. He shot a -5 in the first round. Beau Breault and Cougar Collins shot 215 and tied for 34th place. Zach Sudinsky finished with a 223.
Celone was named MAC Men’s Golfer of the Week on April 18, with his top-10 finish at Penn State for the Rutherford Intercollegiate Tournament. His three-day total at 213 put him in a tie for ninth place, which included a -2 in the first round. The men’s golf MAC Championship tournament starts on Friday, April 26 in Aurora, Ohio. EMU will compete to try and take down defending champions Kent State.
Women’s Track & Field:
The Eagles sent only two runners two compete in the Bryan Clay Invitational beginning on April 18. Sydney Myers and Emily Smith represented the school, competing in four separate events over the two days of competition. Day one of the invitational saw record setting performances by both Myers and Smith in their separate events.
Smith started the day off for the Eagles with an eighth place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase event with a time of 10:20.94. That time was the fourth best in program history. It also gave her the 23rd fastest finish by an NCAA athlete this season.
Meyers quickly followed up the hot start by finishing 14th in the 5,000-meter heat one event with a time of 16:08.03. That finish broke her own record as Meyers holds the record for the third fastest finish in a 5,000-meter run in school history.
Day two of the invitational did not see record setting performances like the first did but did see a collegiate debut for Smith as she competed in the 1,500-meter open event for the first time as a collegiate athlete and finished in 42nd place with a time of 4:39.
The team will come home for a few days rest during finals week before going back on the road to take part in Hillsdale Gina Relays in Hillsdale, Mich. from April 25-27.
