NIACC men place 10th at Verhille Invite

IOWA CITY - The NIACC men's golf team placed 10th out of 18 teams at the Verhille Invitational hosted by Mount Mercy University on Thursday at the Finkbine Golf Course.

NIACC shot a 324 on the home course for the University of Iowa. ICCAC teams claimed the top three spots with DMACC winning with a 285.

"It was a perfect day for golf (Thursday)," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said, "but the greens of Finkbine proved to be a difficult test for the guys.

"It was really fun to play this course and I thought overall our guys gave it their all."

Kirkwood was second with a 291 and Hawkeye CC was third with a 299.

Sophomore Kai Nelles led NIACC with a 77. Bryce Malchow was next in line with an 80.

Also for NIACC, Bradley Vaith shot 81, Jack Barragy shot 86 and Eric Ritter shot 88.

"We weren't pleased with our scoring," Frenz said, "but with a good week of practice, we'll be ready to go for the regional tournament."

NIACC returns to action April 30-May 1 at the NJCAA Region XI tournament at The Preserve on Rathbun Lake in Moravia.

Team standings - DMACC 285, Kirkwood 291, Hawkeye CC 299, Illinois Central 300, St. Ambrose 305, Mount Mercy B 313, Mount Mercy 315, Viterbo 317, St. Ambrose B 320, NIACC 324, Graceland 325, Clarke 329, Iowa Wesleyan 330, Viterbo B 332, Hawkeye CC B 335, Mount Mercy C 352, Clarke B 366.