Hoosiers win 1st spring tournament

After a slow start to the spring season, the IU men’s golf team made its strongest statement of 2013 with a victory at the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular this past weekend in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

The Hoosiers’ confidence had been shaken by a pair of poor performances in February — a first-round exit in the Big Ten Match Play Championship and a 12th-place finish in the Bayou City Collegiate Championships raised questions about the team’s ability to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

IU Coach Mike Mayer said this victory erased many of those questions within the team.

“We’re back on track now, on track for an NCAA bid, and we have the confidence and knowledge that we can do this,” Mayer said. “When you don’t win for a while, you lose that information and don’t remember sometimes how to win. We’ve won in the fall, and we won again in the spring. It’s a big motivation for us.”

Senior Brant Peaper continued his recent run of strong play in the No. 1 spot for the Hoosiers. He shot rounds of 72-72-69 to finish at three-under-par-213, good for second place individually.

For him, much of the reason for the team’s success over the weekend can be attributed to intra-squad competition to determine the lineup for the event.

“The rounds we played over spring break, before the qualifying rounds, got the whole team in the competitive mood,” Peaper said.

Seniors Michael McGee and Corey Ziedonis also turned in strong scores for the Hoosiers.

Coming off the heels of a top-40 showing in the team’s last competition, McGee shot rounds of 73-68-75 to finish at even-par-216. He finished in a tie for fifth individually.

Ziedonis earned an individual top-10 finish, as well, shooting rounds of 70-75-73 for two-over-par-218 and a tie for eighth in the field.

Junior David Mills, a player tabbed by Mayer earlier in the season as important to the team’s success going forward, recorded a top-20 finish by reporting scores of 77-71-74, finishing in a tie for 16th with a six-over-par-222.

The performance of McGee, Ziedonis and Mills eased concerns about the lack of depth behind Peaper, who has been a dominant player for much of the season.

“Corey Ziedonis came through in a big way, Michael McGee came through and David Mills came through for us this weekend,” Mayer said. “Brant’s a great player, and I think he’s ready to win each and every week, but as far as the team goes, we needed this.”

Junior Hugo Menendez was the Hoosiers’ fifth man, shooting 78-77-80 to finish at 19-over-par-235 and a tie for 67th individually.

Senior John Beringer and freshmen Sean Stone and Max Kollin played individually for the Hoosiers. Beringer shot 75-74-75 for an eight-over-par-224 and a tie for 27th place, Stone recorded scores of 72-84-69 to finish at nine-over-par-225 and a tie for 32nd, and Kollin shot rounds of 79-78-84 to finish at 25-over-par-241 and a tie for 92nd place.

Peaper said the victory could be what propels the team for the rest of the spring campaign.

“It’ll motivate us even more to get better each day,” Peaper said. “This was a little something that tells us we’re good enough to keep this up.”

The Hoosiers will return to the course April 6, for the NYX Hoosier Invitational at the IU Golf Course.