On September 21 and 22, the University of Idaho men’s golf team traveled to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to compete in the CDA National Reserve Invitational, hosted by Eastern Washington University. The team finished the two-day event in 12th place out of 16 teams, posting a three-round total of 891 (+27).
The Vandals began well with a first-round 5-over-par 293, leaving the team in ninth place and senior Carter Frisby in ninth place individually. The second round didn’t go as well for the men’s golf team, as they posted a 296 (+8), which was the third-highest second-round total in the tournament.
The struggles continued as the Vandals finished the third round with their highest score of the tournament, tying Oregon State and UC Irvine with a total of 302 (+14).
The Vandals welcomed two new recruits to the lineup for this tournament, one of which was freshman Brae Rogalczyk. Rogalczyk led Idaho in his debut, tying for 41st place at 7-over-par. Despite posting a 7-over-par second round, Rogalczyk showed great promise for the squad by shooting par in the other two rounds. His performance provided an encouraging start to what the Vandals hope will be a strong career in Idaho.
Senior Carter Frisby was not far behind, finishing tied for 47th place at 8-over-par. Frisby posted a first-round 1-under-par and an even-par second round before falling short in the third round with a 9-over-par finish.
Along with Frisby, sophomore Ben Buchanan also tied for 47th place at 8-over-par. Buchanan stayed consistent throughout the tournament, shooting 3-over-par in the first and third rounds and 2-over-par in the second round.
Rounding out the Vandals lineup was sophomore Henrik Koglin, who tied for 67th place at 12-over-par, and junior Charley Simpson, who tied for 73rd at 14-over-par. Idaho’s other freshman recruit, Moritz Ampenberger, competed as an individual and also made his debut, tying for 75th at 15-over-par.
It was not the strongest finish for the Vandals, but this was the team’s first tournament of the season. Idaho was not alone in struggling during the third round, as only two teams finished the tournament at par or better. The Vandals will look to use this experience as they adjust and prepare for the long season ahead.
First-place finisher Saint Mary’s (CA) ended the tournament at 7-under-par, with Samuel Baumuller posting an impressive 8-under-par in the second round. The entire team stepped up in the second round, finishing with a strong 15-under-par team score.
Saint Mary’s was followed closely by Pacific, which finished second at 7-under-par and was the only team to finish under par in the third round, shooting a strong 6-under-par. Oregon State’s Davis Hartwell finished first individually at 8-under-par after another impressive second-round performance of 6-under-par.
The next tournament for the Vandals is next week in St. Louis on September 28-29 at SIUE Dolenc Invitational, hosted by SIU Edwardsville.