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Men’s golf team ends regular season in seventh at Boilermaker Invitational, Dunne leads NIU

April 22, 2012
Thomas Dunne

Thomas Dunne

The Northern Illinois men’s golf team wrapped up the regular season portion of its schedule with a seventh-place finish at the Boilermaker Invitational at the Kampen Course on the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.

Freshman Thomas Dunne (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) was the top-finishing Huskie, taking 13th with a final round 75.

Indiana won the tournament with a 54-hole total of 877; Luke Guthrie of Illinois claimed individual medalist honors with a five-under 213.

“It was a tough day for the Huskies,” said NIU head coach Tom Porten. “We just didn’t execute very well, especially around the greens. We had some unforced errors on pitches and chips where we should be able to get the ball up-and-in. Bryce (Emory) and Thomas (Dunne) managed to play fairly well, unfortunately the other guys struggled a little bit.”

NIU had the second-best finish of the seven Mid-American Conference schools competing in the tournament, bettered only by Kent State who claimed third-place.

Dunne had a very steady round that included 14 pars en route to his second top-10 finish in the last three tournaments. The freshman had a bogey on his second hole of the day, the par-three fifth, and a birdie on his fourth hole, No. 7, before collecting pars all the way back around with the exception of a bogey on No. 14 and a double-bogey as the result of a two-stroke penalty on the back nine.

“It was a real solid tournament for Thomas,” Porten said. “His consistency this spring has been fantastic; he has really become one of the better players in the conference, let alone one of the top freshmen.”

The 13th-place finish was Dunne’s second-best career finish, earlier this spring he tied for seventh at the Florida Atlantic Spring Break Championship

Bryce Emory

Bryce Emory

Junior Bryce Emory (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy)carded his best round of the tournament and the best round of the day for the Huskies, with a two-over 74. Emory played the front nine in even-par to help him earn tie for 41st.

“Bryce really battled today,” said Porten. “He didn’t hit it great off the tee but he did a nice job of managing his game today. He was even, one-over or two-over all day, he never made a mistake today and that is a good sign looking forward to the conference championship.”

Junior Griffin Bauman (Crystal Lake, Ill./Central) finished the tournament with a final round 80 to finish, finishing in a tie for 29th with a 54-hole total of 227. The finish was Bauman’s third top-30 in the last four tournaments.

Following a week off, NIU will return to action on Friday, May 4, when the Huskies host the Mid-American Conference Championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. The three-day event will continue through Sunday, May 6.

For more information on NIU men’s golf and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.