NIACC men place 7th at DMACC Invite

AMES - The NIACC men's golf team placed seventh Wednesday at the DMACC Fall Invitational at the Ames Golf and Country Club.

NIACC placed seventh with a 319. Iowa Central was the team champion with a 290 and DMACC was second with a 298.

"I have to be happy with the overall team improvement (Wednesday)," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said, "but we still have a ways to go."

NIACC was led by freshman Bryce Malchow with a career-best 76. Andrew Crane was next in line for the Trojans with a career-best 79.

"Bryce Malchow did a great job of getting up and down (Wednesday)," Frenz said, "and he hit the ball a lot better than he has the previous couple of tournaments. I'm excited that he's starting to settle in.

"Andrew Crane had a nice day. He's been working extremely hard on various aspects of his game and I'm glad to see it pay off."

Bradley Vaith shot an 80 and Eric Ritter and Jack Barragy both shot 81.

"Bradley Vaith, Eric Ritter and Jacob Wiersma are very close to breaking through," Frenz said. "They just need to keep it together for all 18 holes."

Also for the Trojans, Jacob Wiersma shot 82, Kai Nelles shot 83 and Hunter Heintz shot 89.

NIACC returns to action Friday and Saturday at the Clarke University Fall Classic at the Eagles Ridge Golf Course in Galena, Ill.

"Our goal is to get better with each event," Frenz said, "and we have a tough test coming up."

Team standings - Iowa Central 290, DMACC 298, Iowa Lakes 303, Central College A 311, Central College B 311, Coe College A 312, NIACC 319, Coe College B 322, Simpson College A 331, Simpson College B 336, Clarke University 339, Southeastern 355.