KANSAS CITY – Led by junior Brenden Bassing and sophomore Jake Oetzmann, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Golf Team carded its best round and finished fifth at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Men's Golf Championship which concluded Saturday (April 20) at the Shoal Creek Golf Course. Bassing carded a team-best 73 and finished 11^th while Oetzmann had a 74 today with his second best round of his career.
 

USF, which claimed its fourth placing of fifth or better this spring, finished at 917 (313-306-298) and the fifth place showing was a major jump from a year ago when the Cougars captured eighth place in the team standings. In fact, USF's 65-over par 917 was a 12 shot improvement over 2018 when USF was 67-over par with a 929 (313-312-304).

USF Director of Men's and Women's Golf Sam Vosler was proud of his team's effort today and throughout this season – one that he noted was defined by growth and improvement.

"We had another great effort today from the guys. I am proud of how they competed and finished out the season. With ideal weather conditions, we just didn't go low enough to jump Minnesota State," added Vosler, who team finished the season with four sub-300 rounds in the final six rounds shot.

"We didn't quite finish were we wanted for the conference championship but we had a great season. There was a lot of growth from everyone. We broke through this spring and started to be more consistent across the roster," he said.

Winona State captured its 14^th league tournament title with an 18-over par 870 (293-300-277) as they closed with a round of seven under par 277. The Warriors will advance to the NCAA DII regional. Concordia St. Paul moved up to second with a 44-over par total of 896 (304-302-290) while Bemidji State finished third at 49 over par at 901 (300-302-299) and followed by Minnesota State at 51 over par 903 (304-315-284).

USF, which placed three golfers in the top 27 and all-five in the top 36, was fifth and the rest of the field included Minot State, sixth, 70 over par, 922 (317-313-292); Upper Iowa, 7^th, 84-over par 936 (316-319-301); Augustana, eighth, 90-over par, 942 (325-313-304); St. Cloud State, ninth, 104-over par 956 (321-322-313); and Minnesota Crookston, 10^th, 118-over par 970 (332-323-315). The Warriors finished with four of the top-five golfers, including medalist Ben Jasper, who fired rounds of 72-73-69 to finish at 214, one-over-par to finish four strokes ahead of second place.  Jasper is the first WSU medalist at the NSIC Championships since Mitch Holm earned the honor in 2015. 

Bassing, who finished 32^nd a year ago, had a major jump this year with his placing of 11^th. It is a move of 21 spots with his 225 (79-73-73), an improvement of 13 shots over a year ago. Bassing opened with a 79 and closed with consecutive rounds of 73. Bassing's 73 in the final role including a 35 on the front nine and 38 on the back nine as he had a birdie on seven plus an eagle on hole nine. With 11 pars, he had 29 in the tournament

JJ Cooney, a two-time All-NSIC performer who was sixth in at the 2018 conference meet, finished in a tie for 13^th with a 14-over par total of 227 (78-72-77). He opened at 78, carded a 72 on day two and 77 in the final round. He had birdies on holes five and 17 in the final round and had eight pars. He finished the tournament with eight birdies and 27 pars.   

Jacob Zosel, who finished ninth a year ago at the NSIC Championship, finish his sophomore season tied for 27^th with a three-round total of 234 (77-81-76). After opening at 77, he carded an 81 on day two and finished at 76. Today, he had two birdies on holes one and seven and had three for the tournament. With 10 pars today, he finished with 30 total pars in the tournament. 

Oetzmann finished in a tie for 33^rd as he closed strong with his 74. On the day, he had a birdie on 13 and a team-high 13 pars. For the tournament he had a team-high 32 pars as he shot a 23 over par 236 (82-80-74). Oetzmann jumped up eight spots from 41^st at the 2018 meet and jumped up 11 spots overall.

Freshman Jack Evans concluded his freshman campaign with a 36^th place showing at the league meet. He finished 26 over par at 239 (79-85-75). After an 85 on Saturday, he had a 10-shot improvement with a 75, which included birdies on holes seven, 10 and 13 plus 10 pars.  He finished the meet with six birdies and 24 pars.  

"This team has a bright future with everyone returning," said Vosler. "It is a great group. We had a fun season and one that I am proud of," he added.