Briar Cliff Invitational

• PREVIEW
• RECAP/RESULTS

The Event… The Northwestern College men's golf team will compete in a meet hosted by Briar Cliff on Wednesday, September 23, teeing off at 9:00 at Green Valley in Sioux City, Iowa.

Participants… Teams from Briar Cliff, Dordt, Morningside, Sioux Falls, Hastings, Northwestern, Buena Vista and Mount Marty will participate in the event. Several schools are sending multiple teams.

Last Year... Northwestern finished 10th out of 16 teams at the two-day Briar Cliff Fall Invitational last year. The Raiders shot a 340 on day one and improved 19 strokes on day two with a 321. Luke Vermeer tied for fifth overall with a 151 (80/71), eight shots in back of overall medalist Josh Reed (BVU) with a 143 (72/71). Jamie Jeltema tied for 42nd place with a 167 (89/78) while Jon Roberts and Hans Vander Plaats tied for 58th with a 173.

Last Time Out...Northwestern shot a season-best 296 and finished in a tie for third place after the first round of the GPAC Championship played at Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City, Iowa on Sept. 17.

The Raiders shattered their previous best of 318 (BVU Invite) by 22 strokes, carding a season-best 296, and tied for third along with Dakota Wesleyan and trail both Morningside and defending champion Nebraska Wesleyan by three strokes (293). Briar Cliff is in fifth place with a 301, followed by Hastings (302) and Sioux Falls (312). All 13 GPAC schools competed.

Luke Vermeer led NWC with an even-par 71 (36-35) and tied for third place with three other golfers, Cam Jacobs (MOR), Andrew Farrand (DWU) and Bill Keane (BCU). They trail first-round leader Kyle Jaacks (68) by three strokes and Jon Tanner (70) by one stroke.

Johnny Schwaller carded a career-best round of two-over 73 (36-37) while both Michael Clark and Jon Roberts tied for 15th place with a five-over 76. Clark shot a 38 on both the front and back nine while Roberts carded a three-under 32 on the front and a 44 on the back to post his season-best score. Ross Kiewiet was the final Raider golfer with an 81 (39/42).

Line-Up... As a team, Northwestern holds a 319 scoring average heading into the BCU Invite with a pair of third place finishes (Morningside Fall, GPAC). Luke Vermeer leads Coach Bloemendaal's squad with a 74.3 scoring average and has placed in the top 10 in all four events. Michael Clark carries a 79 scoring average, ranking second on the team, followed by Ross Kiewiet (80.5) and Michael Dykema (80.7). Three other golfers, Johnny Schwaller, Eric Posthuma and Jon Roberts, are all within one stroke for their season scoring average. Probable line-up: Vermeer, Clark, Kiewiet, Dykema and Schwaller.

Up Next... The Raiders will take part in the two-day Doane Invite on Sept. 28-29 in their final preparation for the second round of the GPAC Championship on Oct. 6.