Teams captures 2nd title of season

In its last tournament before the Big Ten Championships, the IU men's golf team won its second title of the season. Defeating runner-up Minnesota by four strokes, IU left East Lansing, Mich., as the 39th winner of the Fossum/Spartan Invitational. The team will now focus on the upcoming conference championship.\nEight events into the season, the Hoosiers had not secured a tournament championship. After inclement weather denied the team the chance to play the third round and move up on the leaderboard at Pinehurst, IU has since tallied two championships in the past three events with a second-place finish as well.\nThe win came one week after Northwestern topped the Hoosiers in the final round of the Kepler Intercollegiate in Ohio. This time, the Hoosiers did not relinquish their lead entering the final round. Finishing the first round eight strokes out of first place, IU rallied in the second round to shoot a five-under 283 and claim first place. Minnesota shot one stroke more than the Hoosiers in the second round and finished the final round six stokes better than IU, but a first-round 301 prevented the Golden Gophers from taking home the title. \nIU's top performers in the past two events -- freshman Jorge Campillo, who won medalist honors at the Boilermaker Invitational, and Seth Brandon, who tied for honors at the Kepler Intercollegiate -- finished the Fossum/Spartan tied for 26th and 28th respectively. Fellow freshman Drew Allenspach led the way for the Hoosiers, finishing tied for fourth. Sophomore Santiago Quirarte ended with a share of 10th place. The lone senior in the lineup, Brad Marek, tied for 31st.\n"It was a great team effort," IU coach Mike Mayer said. "That's what it takes to win at this level."\nThe Hoosiers' win April 8 and 9 at West Lafayette came in convincing fashion, but Marek said he believes any questions about the team's capabilities were answered Sunday.\n"(Winning the Fossum/Spartan Invitational) just validates what we did at Purdue," he said. \nWith all but one of the competing teams residing in the Midwest District, the Hoosiers are hoping the win elevates them in the district rankings enough to secure an NCAA bid. But a win in this weekend's Big Ten Championship would earn them an automatic spot in the Regionals.\n"I think we're playing well at the right time of the year," Allenspach said. "We're hoping next week that we can take the decision out of the NCAA's hands"