HOCKLEY, Texas – The Kansas Men’s Golf Team wrapped up play for the final day of the Big 12 Match Play Tournament, tying their match with No. 18 Kansas State 3-3 at Houston Oaks Golf Course.
The 7-seeded Jayhawks finished 2-2-1 and in fifth place at the three-day tournament featuring all 10 Big 12 teams and five of the top 20 nationally ranked teams in the country.
Kansas had the morning off as teams finished their last matches of pool play. The Jayhawks faced off with the 5-seeded Kansas State Wildcats in the afternoon, tying 3-3 in a back-and-forth thriller.
“Absolute grind today and it came down to the last match,” said Head Coach Jamie Bermel. “We halved the match but won more holes than K-State, so somewhat of a win! Davis, Will King and William Duquette all won today, but I thought the other three played solid and just got beat!”
Freshman Will King was dominant in his matchup on Wednesday, winning six-of-eight holes to close the match and defeating Tim Tillmanns 5&4 to finish the week 2-0-2. Junior Davis Cooper led the entire final match, defeating Will Hopkins 3&1 to finish 2-1-2 for the event. Junior William Duquette picked up his second win of the tournament, edging Laurenz Schiergen 3&1 to wrap up his week at 2-3.
Juniors Cecil Belisle, Gunnar Broin and Sion Audrain dropped their fifth and final match on Wednesday, each finishing 2-3 on the week. Junior Hank Lierz made his season debut for the Jayhawks, coming up short in the opening match of the tournament and finishing 0-1.
“We were the seventh seed coming into the event,” said Bermel. “We finished fifth, so a lot of positives to draw from. I really liked the way we bounced back from Day 1 and played really solid the last three matches.”
The 53rd-ranked Jayhawks will play next in Maui, Hawaii and compete at the Ka’anapali Classic Oct. 28-30.
