Hoosiers finish fourth in Virginia Shootout tourney, Campillo shines

The IU men's golf team finished in the top five for the first time this season, placing fourth of 15 at VCU/Mattaponi Springs Shootout which concluded Tuesday in Ruther Glen, Va. \nThe tournament's play lived up to the name. Kent State University and Penn State both trailed the University of Louisville by one stroke entering Tuesday's final round. Kent State had no flashes of brilliance left for the last 18 holes as they shot a collective nine over par while plunging to sixth place and out of contention. The Nittany Lions hung around though, keeping pace with a Louisville team that dominated IU and the rest of its competition at the NCAA Central Regional Preview Sept. 9 and 10 in Sugar Grove, Ill.\nAt the end of the round, Penn State had bested Louisville's two-under-par performance for the day by one stroke to pull itself into a tie for first and end the tournament with a shared championship. The Hoosiers, who entered Tuesday tied at fourth, shot three strokes better than Penn State in the final round, but they didn't make up enough ground to move up on the leaderboard. Nevertheless, the Hoosiers did leave Virginia with their best finish of the young season. \nIU coach Mike Mayer noted prior to the event that Louisville was a serious threat to win the Shootout. The Cardinals finished in first place Tuesday for the second time this season in as many attempts. \nPenn State, on the other hand, hasn't seen such success. Unlike Louisville, the Nittany Lions' were coming off an event where they finished far closer to last place than they did first. In fact, their share of the title Tuesday marked the first time the school had won a tournament since the Rutherford Intercollegiate during the 2004-2005 season. Still, Mayer said not even this outcome shocked him.\n"After this many years, I'm never surprised," he said.\nPenn State's surprising play could potentially throw another team into contention for the conference championship later in April. Sophomore Jorge Campillo, who tied for third in his third-consecutive top-five finish of the season, said the tournament called his perception of Penn State and the conference into question.\n"Penn State, last year, was so bad," he said. "I don't think Penn State is a very good team in the Big Ten -- maybe the (number) two or three worst team in the Big Ten ... Maybe this year they are better than us. I don't know. I don't think so, though."\nThe Hoosiers' main goal going into the tournament, according to Mayer, was to improve from their first two performances of the season. IU notched their best team finish of the season, sophomores Seth Brandon and Drew Allenspach joined Campillo to break par and finish in the top 15, and freshman Alex Martin saw his first collegiate action. Finishing in a tie for 51st, Martin is seeking individual improvement following his fist event.\n"I was pretty disappointed (about my performance)," he said. "I didn't think I helped out the team as much as I could have." \nMayer is excited about his team's progress.\n"There's no question we're better," he said. "We're not at the point we were last year, but we're getting closer"