Hewit Leads Falcons To Best Finish Since 2007 At MAC Championships

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MAC Championships

Hewit Leads Falcons To Best Finish Since 2007 At MAC Championships

May 01, 2011 | Men's Golf

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communications Intern

FINAL RESULTS (.pdf)

SCORECARDS:

Drew Preston --- Parker Hewit --- Wes Gates --- Charlie Olson --- Chris Melvin

The Bowling Green State University men's golf team concluded the 2010-11 season with a 305 in the final round of the 2011 Mid-American Conference Championships. The three-day, 72-hole tournament was held in Maineville, Ohio at TPC River's Bend and was hosted by Miami University.

The Falcons' final round ended a roller-coaster weekend that saw BGSU earn the second-best round of the entire tournament with a 291 on Saturday after rounds of 315 and 310 to open play on Friday. Ultimately, the team's total of 1,221 strokes resulted in sole possession of seventh place.

The seventh-place finish is Bowling Green's best at the MAC Championships since a sixth-place showing in 2007.

The Falcons concluded the tournament eight strokes ahead of Toledo and 26 ahead of Ohio. They fell just five shots shy of Northern Illinois and trailed fifth-place Miami by eight.

Kent State won the team championship for the third consecutive year and 15th time in the last 20 seasons. KSU ended the tournament with a one-under-par 1151 (292-275-292-292). Only Ball State (1180) was within 47 strokes of the Golden Flashes.

Falcon junior Parker Hewit led the Orange and Brown with a tournament total of 300 (81-75-70-74). He was part of a five-way tie for 11th place, just one shot shy of the top ten. Hewit holed three birdies during Sunday's play, including one on the final hole of the tournament.

Drew Preston, also a junior, compiled BGSU's best individual score of the final round. He managed to sink five birdies during the day's 18 holes, including three in a five-hole stretch on the front nine. Preston placed 19th overall with a composite 303 (77-82-71-73).

Like Hewit, sophomore Wes Gates birdied the final hole of the tournament – his second birdie over the final four holes. However, Gates found some mid-round difficulty on his way to a 78 and a 72-hole score of 311.

Charlie Olson finished his tournament with a final-round 80, while Chris Melvin carded an 88 on Sunday. The pair posted total scores of 316 and 320, respectively.

Mackenzie Hughes of Kent State led throughout the tournament and won medalist honors with a four-under-par 284 (70-67-73-74). For KSU, John Hahn finished second overall, while Brett Cairns was fourth.

Last year, Cairns and Hahn tied for first; Hughes finished third. The trio also occupied the top three spots in the final standings of the 2009 tournament.

2011 MAC award winners are listed below.

A complete recap of the 2010-11 BGSU men's golf season will be posted later this week on BGSUFalcons.com.

MAC AWARD WINNERS
Golfer of the Year – John Hahn, Kent State (third time in four years)
Kermit Blosser Coach of the Year – Mike Fleck, Ball State
Co-Freshmen of the Year – Tyler Merkel, Ball State and Brian Churchill-Smith, Eastern Michigan
Earl Yestingsmeier Sportsman of the Year – Chuck Nettles, Ohio

All-Tournament Team
Mackenzie Hughes, Kent State
John Hahn, Kent State
Eric Steger, Ball State
Brett Cairns, Kent State
Nick Carbary, Eastern Michigan
Cameron Simmons, Akron

All-MAC First Team
Eric Steger, Ball State
John Hahn, Kent State
Mackenzie Hughes, Kent State
Kevin Miller, Kent State
Nathan Sutherland, Miami

All-MAC Second Team
Lucas Murray, Akron
Tyler Merkel, Ball State
Nick Carbary, Eastern Michigan
Brian Churchill-Smith, Eastern Michigan
Brett Cairns, Kent State