SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Men's Golf Team, which won the Polar Vortex Triangular on March 8 and had a strong performance at the Lindenwood Invite, will look to continue a strong start this spring as they compete at the Upper Iowa Invite on March 30-31 at Prairie Links Golf Course in Waverly, Iowa. Originally the tournament was scheduled for Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo, Iowa but the course is not ready for play due to the late snow and rain plus low temperatures.

USF will be among eight men's teams competing at the tournament which will be hosted by Upper Iowa. Other participating teams will include St. Cloud State, Minnesota State, Winona State, Bemidji State, and Augustana.
 
USF, led by Director of Men's and Women's Golf Sam Vosler, opened the spring campaign of 2018-19 by winning the Polar Vortex Triangular (one round of 316) as JJ Cooney finished second. Then, USF had a strong outing and finished ninth at the highly competitive Lindenwood Invitational in St. Charles, Mo. In that meet, Cooney again led the way with a 12^th place finish as he carded a 220 with rounds of 75-74-71.

With its performance at the Lindenwood Invitational, USF dropped its per round average, which sat at 307.3 through 10 rounds to 306.38 through 13 rounds and six competitions. So far this year, USF has had two individuals place in the top five (Jacob Zosel and JJ Cooney) and eight players finish in the top 10 at various meets. USF also has had 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 top-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 second round of 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.
Cooney leads USF to ninth place finish at Lindenwood Invite
Led by JJ Cooney's consistent performance through 54 holes, USF claimed ninth in the team standings at the Lindenwood Invitational on March 26. Cooney moved up five spots from the opening day to finish 12^th by carding a three-round total of 220 (75-74-71). In shooting an even-par 71 in the third round, Cooney had his second best round of the season. He improved his score in each of his three rounds by opening with a 75 and then carding a 74 in round two and 71 in the final round. Cooney now has 10 rounds of 75 or better this year.   With Cooney's consistent play and solid play throughout the lineup, USF finished tied for nine with Missouri Baptist as both schools finished at 910. USF, which was among 19 teams at the tourney, opened with a 299 and then had scores of 306 and 305. The Cougars had its top three-round total and bettered the mark of 921 at the MSSU Invitational on Sept. 24-25, 2018 at Sangri-La Country Club at Monkey Island, Okla. With 104 golfers competing, USF has four in the top 52. Junior Brenden Bassing closed with a 75 and had a three-round total of 19 over par 232 (77-80-75). With the 75, he had his best round of the tourney and moved up nine spots with his day two five-shot improvement. Sophomore Jacob Zosel also was tied for 44^th after carding a final round of 78. He finished at 19 over par 232 (72-82-78). Freshman Jack Evans, who tied for 10^th after the first day of competition, finished at 21 over par total of 234 (75-70-89). Also for USF, junior Blake Berry carded a three-round total of 32 over par and 245 (78-86-81). Berry, who was tied for 79^th, improved by five shots from his second round.  Sophomore Jake Oetzman moved up two spots to 93^rd and finished with a 38-over par 251 (87-85-79). He had a six shot improvement from his second round and eight shots better than his opening round.  

Individual Notes
JJ Cooney ranks ninth in the NSIC with a per round average of 74.46. 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 season-low round of 71 in the season opener at the Bemidji State Invite. Cooney's career-best round was a 69 in the third round of the MSSU Fall Invite on Sept. 26-27, 2016 when, as a freshman, he had a three-round total of 222 (73-80-69). 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). His best round of the year was a 70 in the third round of the MSSU Fall Invite when he carded a season-best three-round total of 216 with scores of 74-72-70. He shot a career-best two-round total of 145 (71-74) at the BSU Invite on Sept. 10-11, 2017. In his most recent competition, he carded a three-round total of 220 with the 75-74-71 three rounds performance.

In 13 rounds this season, freshman Jack Evans has a 77.62 per round average with 1,009 shots. She shot a career-low 70 at the Lindenwood Invite when he opened with a 74 and carded a 70 in the second round before finishing with an 89 for a three-round total of 234 which placed him 52^nd. It was the best three-round total of his freshman season. 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 13 rounds this season, he has 1,010 shots for a per round average of 77.69. At the most recent competition, he had a season-best round of 72 as he finished in 232 (72-82-78), which was hit best three-round total of the year.

Junior Brenden Bassing has shot 13 rounds with a 1,012 shots for a 77.85 average, which he improved after carding a three-round total of 232 (77-80-75) at the Lindenwood Invitational when he placed 44^th of 104 golfers. 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 10 rounds and totaled 808 shots for an 80.80 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. Most recently he had a three-round total of 245 (78-86-81) at the Lindenwood Invitational.

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 eight rounds and 654 shots for an average round of 81.75. 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. At his most recent competition, the Lindenwood Invite last week, he had a three-round total of 251 (87-85-79). Three times this season, including the third round at Lindenwood, he has shot a season high of 79.

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.