SMITHVILLE, Mo.—The UIndy men's golf team capped a memorable week with a title-clinching performance at the 2024 GLVC Championships on Tuesday. The Greyhounds' all-freshman lineup showed maturity beyond its years, topping the stroke-pay leaderboard Monday before earning close victories in both the semifinals and finals Tuesday to capture the program's league-best 17th conference title. The Championships were held at the Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville, Mo.
The Greyhounds have now won four GLVC trophies since the conference adopted its current format in 2012. They now await the announcement of the 2024 NCAA Division II Regional field, which is set for Friday, April 26. The regional itself is scheduled for May 9-11 in Edmund, Okla. The Greyhounds were ranked No. 4 in the most-recent
Midwest rankings.
TUESDAY
The young but resilient Greyhounds fought their way to the finals only to face a more-seasoned Missouri S&T squad, one that edged them at their
own tournament just two weeks ago.
The key moment came during the afternoon's second pairing – S&T junior Jeppe Thybo, the medalist of the aforementioned tourney, versus fellow-Scandinavian
Simon Engman, UIndy's No. 1 most of the season.
Thybo earned a two-stroke lead through 10 holes, but Engman clawed backed with a par on 11 and a birdie on 16 to knot the score. Engman tipped the scales for the Hounds with a long birdie putt on 18 that clinched a crucial point for the Crimson & Grey.
Ben Keil (73) and
Cameron Young (74) closed out the match with points in the final two pairings to seal the win.
UIndy took down defending-champ McKendree in the morning semifinal, 3-2. The win was spearheaded by solid rounds from
Maverick Conaway (70) and
Ben Keil (71), both of whom finished under par on the way to an 11-stroke win.
Alexander Nestun (74) and Engman (73) each halved their matchup to pick up a half point apiece.
MONDAY
The swirling winds helped to inflate the scores on Monday, but freshman
Cameron Young did just enough to earn All-GLVC honors. The Salisbury, England native entered the day at -4 before shooting a final-round 76 to finish at even par and T-4. Just one player – Maryville's Kai Chun Hsu (71) – shot under par on Tuesday.
Maverick Conaway and
Ben Keil finished at +1 to share seventh place, while
Simon Engman (T-9) finished at +3 to join them in the top 10.
Alexander Nestun (+16) rounded out the team scoring at T-37.
ALL-GLVC*
1. Cyril Henault, Missouri-St. Louis (-3)
2. Hunter Jowers, Drury (-2)
3. Carl Miltun, Missouri S&T (-1)
T-4.
Cameron Young, UIndy (E)
T-4. Bryson Oots, William Jewell (E)
T-4. Thomas Tollefsen, McKendree (E)
*Five more student-athletes will be added via coaches vote at a later date
SUNDAY
After a frost delay in the morning, the young Greyhound squad proceeded to hang a total of seven red numbers on the board over the course of two rounds, with all five Hounds carding at least one round under par. All five Greyhounds sit in the top 20, led by
Cameron Young in third place. Additionally, all five Hounds shot even par or better in the second round, with their team score of 278 (-10) good for UIndy's best single-round team score at the conference championships since 2009.
Young shot 71-69 on Sunday to sit at -4, two back of leaders Cyril Henault (UMSL) and Carl Miltun (Missouri S&T).
Simon Engman (74-67) and
Ben Keil (69-72) share fourth place at -3. Engman's second-round 67 is the lowest stroke-play score by at Greyhound at the GLVC Championships since Graham McAree's third-round 66 in 2018.
Maverick Conaway went 71-71 and is T-7 with three other golfers at -2, while
Alexander Nestun sits at +3 and T-17.
