SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Men's Golf Team, which won the Polar Vortex Triangular on March 8, will look to continue a strong start this spring as they compete at the Lindenwood Invitational at the Missouri Bluffs Golf Club in St. Charles, Mo., on Monday and Tuesday, March 25-26.

USF, directed by head coach Sam Vosler, opened the spring campaign of 2018-19 by winning the Polar Vortex Triangular (one round of 316) as JJ Cooney finished second.
USF, which has an average round score of 307.3 through 10 rounds, through five competitions, has had two individuals place in the top five (Jacob Zosel and JJ Cooney) and eight finish in the top 10. USF has three top seven finishes as a team. They finished fourth at the Augustana Invitational after carding a team total of 606 (302-304) on Sept. 29-30. Cooney captured sixth place with a 149 (73-76) while both junior Brenden Bassing (75-75-150) and freshman Jack Evans (76-74-150) finished ninth as the Cougars placed three in the to-10 individually.

USF was also seventh at the Bemidji State Invitational on Sept. 10-11. At the BSU competition, USF had its season-best two round total of 605 (294-311). In the opening round at BSU Invite, USF had a round of 294, which is the top round of the 2018-19 season. Jacob Zosel had a career-best finish of second place with his career-best opening round of 69 and with a 75 finished with a 144 total.
  
USF Men's Team win Polar Vortex Triangular
Led by junior JJ Cooney, USF won the Polar Vortex Triangular held at the McCormick Ranch Golf Club on March 8. USF finished one shot ahead of Minnesota State with a 28-over par total of 316. MSU was second at 317 followed by host school Concordia St. Paul at 320. In his best finish this season, Cooney finished second with a three-over par 75 and USF earn its first team title of the season. He finished two strokes off the lead of Taylor Zack of Concordia St. Paul, who carded a one-over par 73.  USF placed six players in the top 11. Also for USF, sophomore Jacob Zosel scored a seven-over par 79 to tie for sixth. Freshman Jack Evans and sophomore Jake Oetzmann finished tied for eighth with an eight-over par total of 80. Both junior Brendan Bassing and junior Blake Berry carded a 10-over par rounds of 82 and tied with CSP's Nick Navarro for 11^th. Freshman Nathan Woodall finished in a three-way tie for 14^th with a 1-over par round of 83. USF also had an 18^th place showing by freshman Hank Eggebraaten with a 12-over par total of 84.

Individual Notes
JJ Cooney ranks 11^th in the NSIC with a per round average of 74.8. He finished a season best second at the Polar Vortex Triangular. Cooney is a two-time All-NSIC honoree and the first-ever men's golfer at USF named first team all-league in 2018. A year ago Cooney led the Cougars with a 74.68 stroke average in eight events, including five top-10 finishes and a sixth-place finish at the NSIC Championships in April. A model of consistency throughout the season, 18 of Cooney's 19 rounds this year were 77 or lower, including a career-low round of 71 in the season opener at the Bemidji State Invite. In the spring portion of the season, Cooney posted top-10 finishes in all four tournaments that culminated in his sixth-place score at the NSIC Championships, which is the highest finish for a USF golfer in six years as members of the league. Cooney's final round 73 at the NSIC Championships was tied for the low round of the day and tied for the sixth-lowest of the tournament. Cooney ended the season ranked 25th in the GolfStat central region 'score vs. par' rankings, sixth among NSIC golfers, and his adjusted score for course and competition was rated 24th in the central region. In his sophomore season, Cooney carded two rounds at-or-below par and nine rounds at 1-over-par or better. This year, he has placed top 10 twice with his recent second place finish (75, Polar Vortex Triangular) going with a sixth place finish at the Augustana Invitational when he had a 149 (73-76). Twice this year he has shot a season-best 73 (BSU Invitational, Augustana Invitational). He shot a career-best two round total of 145 (71-74) at the BSU Invite on Sept. 10-11, 2017.

In 10 rounds this season, freshman Jack Evans has a 77.50 per round average with 10 rounds and 775 shots. She shot a career-low 74 in the second round at the BSU Invitational and finished at 154 (79-74). He had a career-best two-round total of 150 (76-74) as he finished ninth at the Augustana Invitational. He was also eighth at the Polar Vortex Triangular with his 80 placing eighth among 21 golfers.

At the 2018 NSIC Championships sophomore Jacob Zosel carded a 10-over 226 (79-74-73) for ninth place and gave USF two top-10 finishes (Cooney, 6^th) for the second time at the NSIC Championships – Jon Van't Hul and Derek Dillon tied for 10th at the 2015 championships. Zosel had a career-best second-place finish and career-best two-round total of 144 (69-75), at the Bemidji State Invitational. Zosel finished with his highest placing ever and his second career top-10 finish. After opening with a career-best 69 in the first round, Zosel finished with a 75 as he finished in a tie with four others for second and just two strokes off the lead.  He had a career-low 71 at the BSU Invite on Sept. 11-12, 2017 when he finished at 146 (71-75).  Through 10 rounds this season, he has 778 shots in 10 rebounds for a per round average of 77.80.

Junior Brenden Bassing has shot 10 rounds with a 780 total shots for a 78.00 average. He has one top-10 finish in 2018-19 as he was tied for ninth at the Augustana Invitational after carding a 150 (75-75). He has a low round of 73 (73-82-155) on Sept. 10, 2018 at the BSU Invitational. Bassing has a career-best round (second round) of 68 (73-68-141) when he carded a career-best 141 at the BSU Invite on Sept. 11-12.  Four times he has shot a round of 72 or better in his career.

Junior Blake Berry has shot seven rounds and totaled 563 shots for an 80.43 per round average. He has a best placement of 11^th at the Polar Vortex Triangular when he carded an 82. At the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 29-30, 2018, he carded his career-best two-round total of 159 (79-80). Berry had his best career round of 75 (75-80-83-238) in the opening round of the Holiday Inn Express Classic on Oct. 9-10, 2017.

Freshman Hank Eggebraaten carded his career-best two-round total of 157 (79-78) at the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 29-30, 2018 when he placed 26^th of 52 golfers. He shot a career-low 78 in the second round of that tourney. He has his best placement of 18^th at the Polar Vortex Triangular on March 8 when he carded an 84. Through three rounds this season, he has 241 shots and a per round average of 80.33.

Sophomore Jake Oetzmann has shot five rounds and 403 shots for an average round of 80.60. He placed eighth at the Polar Vortex Triangular on March 8 with a round of 80. He carded his career-low two-round total of 156 (79-77) at the UIU Spring Invite on March 29-30, 2018. He placed 28^th at that tourney. He shot a career-low round of 78 in the opening round (78-80-158) of the BSU Invite on Sept. 11-12, 2017.

Freshman Nathan Woodall has shot eight rounds with 639 shots and a 79.88 per round average. He has a career-low two round total of 157 (76-81) at the BSU Invitational on Sept. 10, 2018. At that meet, he had an opening round of 76 which is the best of his eight rounds in his first campaign at USF. With an 83, he placed in a tie for 14^th at the Polar Vortex Triangular on March 8 for his top placement overall at a meet.