The Northern Illinois men's golf team finished the first day of Michigan State's Spartan Classic in seventh-place out of 14 teams with a score of 582 through 36 holes at The Kingsley Club on Saturday. The Huskies shot a 302 in the morning 18 holes and improved in the afternoon 18 with a score of 280 as they trail leader UC-Davis (557) by 25 strokes.
"I wasn't really happy with our performance this morning," said NIU first-year coach Tom Porten. "I lit a fire under them and we played much better in the afternoon round. They all improved and that's a good sign. They were angry at themselves but didn't let it bring them down. They knew that they could play better, and they did."
NIU sophomore Griffin Bauman led the team with a 36-hole total score of 143, posting a 76 in the first 18 and a 67 in the latter 18. Freshman Kurtis Luedtke totaled a score of 145 with a 74 and a 71, respectively. Junior Jeff Dick registered a 147, shooting a 75 and a 72. Senior Matt Triplett shot a 149 with a 79 and a 70. Freshman Paul Hammerschmidt came in with a 150, scoring a 77 and a 73.
