Southland Conference Championship
Ertel, McCrory top five, Kats take third
4/19/2016 6:11:00 PM | Men's Golf
MCKINNEY, Texas – Entering Tuesday's final round of the Southland Conference Championship looking to make up a 13-stroke deficit, the Sam Houston State men's golf team gave eventual winner McNeese State everything it could ask for a majority of the day.
Despite cutting the deficit to two at one point, the Bearkats could not climb the leaderboard any further, finishing third (297-295-293 – 885) after struggling at times down the stretch during the two-day event from the par-72, 7,219-yard Stonebridge Country Club – Dye Course.
“I talked to them for about five minutes last night when we were 13 strokes down and tried to tell them to believe we could do this,” fourth-year head coach Brandt Kieschnick said. “Anything can happen. The front nine, we shot 9-under and I figured we had momentum.
“We just made some bogeys coming in but these are young guys, they know what it's like to be in the heat of a conference championship. These guys will learn and we will be ready next year.”
Sam Houston's Jake McCrory and Andrew Ertel each finished in the top five. Ertel finished tied for second following up a first-round 73 with a 71 and final-round 72 for a 54-hole score of 216. McCrory tied for fifth (218) following up an opening-round 74 with a second-round 71 and final-round 73.
For McCrory, the result follows up a strong finish to his sophomore campaign that included being named co-champion at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic. The Deer Park product notched five straight top-30 finishes to round out the season.
Meanwhile, Ertel finished his campaign the same way in started it – in impressive fashion. The junior, who notched a runner-up finish at the season opener, recorded his first top-10 finish at the league tournament while recording his fourth-straight top-30 finisher.
“Ertel is our junior, our old guy, and he played well every week,” Kieschnick said. “When he plays well, he can compete with anyone. He was right there for us again. Jake his last four events has come on. He was in second with three holes to go. Those two guys will be our catalysts next year.”
Teammate Camden DeBonis earned an 18th-place tie, shooting 76 in each of his first two rounds before trimming off a pair of strokes (74) to finish at 226. Mason Weld took a tied for 33rd shooting 74-81-74 to finish at 229 while Jesse Massengale (77-77-79 – 233) secured a tie for 41st.
With the win, McNeese (877) snapped the Bearkats two consecutive titles at the league event. Southeastern Louisiana took second place (884) while Lamar (886) and Stephen F. Austin (893) rounded out the top five. The Cowboys' Martin Eriksson was awarded the individual medalist at 209.
“They are shooting lights out,” Kieschnick said of his team. “They almost broke a record of coming back. I think they know their talent level. That's what we wanted to teach them this year, is you can play at the highest level. They are a great group, I love coaching them and I am proud of them.”
The Bearkats, who started three freshman, one sophomore and a junior were hot at the right time of the season, shooting 26-under their last six rounds leading up to the league championships. The Kats concluded their 2015-16 campaign with four straight top-five finishes.
“What I love about this group is that they gave me confidence,” Kieschnick said. “Our system works. We challenged them in the way they practice and see the golf course. If we plug in the right guys each year, the results will come to us. They have proven that Sam Houston can compete.”
