NIACC men place 8th at Wartburg Invite

Zach Nicholson chips onto the green on Saturday at the Wartburg Invitational in Waverly.
Zach Nicholson chips onto the green on Saturday at the Wartburg Invitational in Waverly.
April 8, 2017

WAVERLY - The NIACC men's golf team placed eighth at the Wartburg College Invitational Tournament Friday and Saturday at the Prairie Links Golf Course.

NIACC recorded a 316-323 – 639. Kirkwood won the tournament with a 289-309 – 598.

"Overall, I'd say I have mixed feeling about the weekend," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said. "We were really close to shooting our best two-day total of the season, which is great, but we didn't and that's frustrating.

"We have a solid team, but we just haven't had everyone clicking at the same time."

NIACC was led by sophomore Zach Nicholson with a 76-80 – 156. Also for the Trojans Joe Nordquist shot 83-76 – 159, Anthony Emanuel shot 73-87 – 160, Devin Koob shot 84-85 – 169 and Mitchell Scholl shot 89-82 – 171.

"Joe Nordquist did an outstanding job of battling (Saturday) and posted a solid round of 76 as did Zach Nicholson with an 80," Frenz said. "I expect that out of those two guys. Anthony Emanuel had a great day Friday and struggled a little Saturday, but he'll bounce back."

Playing as individuals at the Wartburg Invitational were Josh Schaefer (75-76 – 151) and Zach Bond (82-90 – 172).

"I'm really pleased with how Josh Schaefer played this weekend, shooting 75-76=151, good for 6th place overall in the tournament," Frenz said. "He's been in a battle for that fifth spot this spring and he really got after this weekend, even though he was playing as an individual.

"If we add him into the mix for our team score and we're top 3 as a team."

The NIACC men's and women's teams are back in action Friday at Veenker Golf Course in Ames in the NJCAA Region XI preview tournament.

Team standings – Kirkwood 289-309 – 598; UW-Stout 308-302 – 610; St Norbert 313-310 - 623; Waldorf 319-306 - 625; Carleton 313-317 - 630; Simpson 304-327 - 631; Coe 310-323 - 633; NIACC 316-323 - 639; Wartburg 313-327 - 640; Dubuque 334-339 - 673; Grinnell 335-341 - 676; Buena Vista 335-346 – 681.

NIACC's 4-round season averages

Zach Nicholson 78.25; Josh Schaefer 79.5; Joe Nordquist 80.0; Anthony Emanuel 81.5; Devin Koob 82.75; Zach Bond 84.5; Mitchell Scholl 84.5.