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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Three Falcon Golfers Made 2005 MAC Championship Memorable
May 10, 2005 | Men's Golf
May 10, 2005
Westerville, Ohio - Bowling Green juniors Tommy Lopez (T-5th) and Chris Leake (T-10th) became the first Falcon tandem to record top-10 finishes at the same Mid-American Conference Championship since 1995. Also, senior Craig Pickerel became the third Falcon in four years to earn the prestigious Earl Yestingsmeier Sportsmanship Award, voted on by fellow MAC players.
Lopez finished tied for fifth with a 72-hole score of 284 at last weekend's MAC Championship, held at the Medallion Club in Westerville, Ohio. He shot a career-low 69 in the final round. Lopez, playing in his first MAC Championship, shot at or below his season-low the entire weekend with two rounds of 72 on Thursday, a 71 on Friday, and a 69 on Saturday. He became the highest finisher for the Falcons since Nick Myers was the runner-up at the 1995 MAC Championships with a score of 294.
Leake ended tied for 10th place with a 72-hole score of 286, just two shots back of Lopez. Leake shot a 72 on Saturday after recording rounds of 70-73-71 in the first two days. It marked the first time since 1995 that two Falcons placed among the top 10. That season Chris Skripac finished tied for 6th with a score of 300 along with Myers' second-place showing.
Pickerel improved upon rounds of 78 and 79 on Thursday with rounds of 73 on Friday and 74 on Saturday, ending tied for 44th with a score of 304. The fifth-year senior also earned the honor of being given the Earl Yestingsmeier Sportsmanship Award as voted upon by fellow MAC players, the only award voted on by the golfers themselves. Inscribed on the trophy are the words "There's no greater respect than the respect of one's fellow competitors." Pickerel becomes the fifth Falcon to earn this award, which began in 1981, and the third in the last four years. Joining Pickerel among the Falcons who have been honored with the prestigious award are Adam Balls (2004), Justin Gillham (2002), BGSU Coach Garry Winger (1994), and Dan Connelly (1984).
Junior Heath Ziglar finished tied for 46th with a score of 306 (73-76-75-82) while junior Dan McIntyre finished 50th with a score of 311 (79-75-82-75).
As a team, the Falcons finished eighth out of 10 teams with a 72-hole score of 1,169 (293-296-290-290). BGSU's two rounds of 290 to end the tournament were one off its season-low of 289. BGSU finished just eight shots back of 7th-place Northern Illinois (1,161) and nine shots back of sixth place Akron (1,160).
Kent State won the tournament with a 72-hole score of 1,119. KSU's Ryan Yip won the individual medalist honors with a score of 277 (63-72-71-71).
MAC Co-Golfer of the Year: Peter Laws (Kent State) and Ryan Yip (Kent State)
MAC Coach of the Year: Herb Page (Kent State)
MAC Freshman of the Year: Tommy Wiegand (Kent State)
Earl Yestingsmeier Sportsmanship Award: Craig Pickerel (Bowling Green)
First-team All-MAC: Blake Sattler (Akron), Korey Mahoney (Eastern Michigan), Peter Laws (Kent State), Ryan Yip (Kent State), Tommy Wiegand (Kent State), Justin Bertsch (Toledo).
Second-team All-MAC: Wayne Denger (Ball State), Patrick Wilkes-Krier (Ball State), Matt Thomas (Miami), Nick Schenk (Northern Illinois), Ryan Siekmann (Ohio).
Final Results 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total 1 Kent State 271 285 282 281 1119 (-33) 2 E. Michigan 280 281 291 286 1138 (-14 3 Ball State 291 287 286 286 1150 (-2) 4 Toledo 294 285 288 284 1151 (-1) 5 Ohio 293 278 294 290 1155 (+3) 6 Akron, 293 293 284 290 1160 (+8) 7 N. Illinois 294 287 289 291 1161 (+9) 8 BGSU 293 296 290 290 1169 (+17) 9 Marshall 287 300 295 290 1172 (+20) 10 Miami 290 298 292 295 1175 (+23)
