April 21, 2004

Men's Golf Finishes Fifth At MIAA Championships And In Final Standings

The Bulldog men's golf team ended its regular season yesterday by finishing fifth at the MIAA Championship in Lawrence, Kan. The team also stayed in the fifth spot in the final MIAA standings, improving from the sixth-place spot that they have finished the last two years.

Washburn won the tournament and also jumped over Missouri Southern to win the MIAA championship for the second year in a row.

Freshmen Jesse Helms (Hillsboro, Mo./Hillsboro) led the team at the 54-hole event. He shot a season-best 72 in the opening round and finished the event in sixth-place overall with a score of 222. Junior Austin George (Wichita, Kan./Andover) just missed a top-10 finish, coming in 11th just four shots behind Helms.

The Bulldogs scoring leader, junior Jason Bertram (Manchester, Mo./Parkway South), finished third on the team and tied for 21st overall at the event with a total of 233. Senior Jake Mann (Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth) tied for 26th with a score of 236 and senior Brett Meeske (Moline, Ill./Moline) was 33rd with a 246.

The men's golf team will find out Friday if it will advance to the NCAA Super Regional. The team is ranked sixth in this week's regional ranking and the top eight teams advance. The regional will be played on May 3-5 this year in Union, Ky.

Final MIAA Standings

                   T   S   C   W   M  Total
Washburn           5  4.5  6   7  14  36.5
Missouri Southern  6   7   7   5   8  33	
Central Missouri   7  4.5  5   3  12  31.5
Missouri Western   3   6   4   6  10  29
Truman             4   2   3   4   6  19
Southwest Baptist  2   3   2   2   4  13
Pittsburg State    1   1   1   1   2   6

Points awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. 
Points doubled for the MIAA Tournament.
Tournament Codes
T - Truman 
S - Missouri Southern
C - Central Missouri
W - Missouri Western
M - MIAA