Men's Golf Cruises Past Ohio to Take Fifth at Match Play Event

DADE City, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's golf team took fifth at the Sixth Annual Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play Event on the par 72, 7,153 yard Lake Jovita Golf Course. The Eagles fell to eighth-seeded Miami University before advancing past the No. 5 Rockets of the University of Toledo on tiebreakers. EMU rounded out the event by topping sixth-ranked Ohio University, 4.5-1.5, in the fifth-place match on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Four Eagles posted wins on Valentine's Day led by sophomore Beau Breault (Howell, Mich.-Hartland), who finished with a 2-0-1 record to pace the squad during the two-day event. The Howell, Mich. native rolled past Ohio's Ben Sattler, 6&5, after yesterday downing Miami's Callahan Elzey, 4&3, and splitting against Toledo's Spencer Shoemaker.

After a slow start to the event, senior Kyle Rodes (Plymouth, Mich.-Plymouth) rebounded to notched a 1-up victory over the Bobcats Ty Herriot. Meanwhile, senior Philippe Weppernig (Lucerne, Switzerland-Kantonsschule Alpenquai Luzern-Owens C.C.) posted the largest victory of the day with a 7&6 triumph over Grant Engel.

Senior Jared Multer (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview-Grand Rapids C.C.) rounded out the EMU victories on the day with a 6&5 defeat of Brady Bohl.

In other action, No. 2-seeded Notre Dame won the 2017 Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play title with a 3.5-2.5 triumph over No. 4-seeded Seton Hall. No. 8-seeded Miami placed third with a 5-1 win over No. 3 seeded Ball State. In the seventh-place match, No. 5-seeded Toledo topped No. 7-seeded DePaul, 4-2.

Schools were competing in teams of six with the seeds determined by their current GolfStat rankings. Each of the six matches was worth one point to the winner. If the competitors end up all-square after 18 holes, each school received ½ point. The school with the most points after the six matches won.

Unlike stroke play, in which the unit of scoring is the total number of strokes taken over one or more rounds of golf, match play scoring consists of individual holes won, halved or lost. On each hole, the most that can be gained is one point. Golfers play as normal, counting the strokes taken on a given hole. The golfer with the lowest score on a given hole receives one point. If the golfers tie, then the hole is halved. Also, once a player is "up" more holes than there are holes remaining to play the match is over.

The Eagles finished in 2015 and 2016 and second at the 2012 and 2014 events. In the six years of the event, Head Coach Bruce Cunningham's crew has posted a 13-4 record in match play.

The team returns to traditional stroke play next at the Loyola Intercollegiate, Feb. 25-27, in Goodyear, Ariz.

2017 Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play Challenge

Round 1 - Quarterfinals:
#8 Miami 4, #1 Eastern Michigan 2
Patrick Flavin (Miami) def. Kyle Rodes (EMU), 3&2
Brian Ohr (Miami) def. Nic Ross (EMU), 5&4
Greg Conrad (Miami) def. Jared Multer (EMU), 4&3
Beau Breault (EMU) def. Callahan Elzey (Miami), 4&3
Cam Solomon (Miami) def. Joey Kremer (EMU), 2 up
Philippe Weppernig (EMU) def. JD Fletcher (Miami), 2&1

No. 4 Seton Hall def. No. 5 Toledo, 5-1
No. 3 Ball State def. No. 6 Ohio, 4-2
No. 2 Notre Dame def. No. 7 DePaul, 4-2

Round 2 - Semifinals:
#1 Eastern Michigan vs. #5 Toledo, halved 3-3 -- Eastern Michigan advances on tiebreaker (won 2 more total holes)
Kyle Rodes (EMU) def. Stephen Watts (Toledo), 4&2
Nic Ross (EMU) def. Thomas Thurloway(Toledo), 5&3
Colin Joseph (Toledo) def. Jared Multer (EMU), 4&2
Beau Breault (EMU) halved with Spencer Shoemaker (Toledo), A/S
Joey Kremer (EMU) halved with Joe Bryce (Toledo), A/S
Grant Godfrey (Toledo) def. Philippe Weppernig (EMU), 3&1

#6 Ohio vs. #7 DePaul, halved 3-3 -- Ohio advances on tiebreaker (won 4 more total holes)
#4 Seton Hall vs. #8 Miami, halved 3-3 -- Seton Hall advances on tiebreaker (won 6 more total holes)
#2 Notre Dame def. #5 Ball State, 4-2

Championship Match:
#2 Notre Dame def. #4 Seton Hall, 3.5-2.5

Third-Place Match:
#8 Miami def. #3 Ball State, 5-1

Fifth-Place Match:
#1 Eastern Michigan def. #6 Ohio, 4.5-1.5
Kyle Rodes (EMU) def. Ty Herriot (OHIO), 1 up
Nic Ross (EMU) halved with Peyton White (OHIO), A/S
Jared Multer (EMU) def. Brady Bohl (OHIO), 6&5
Beau Breault (EMU) def. Ben Sattler (OHIO), 6&5
Michael Kenney (OHIO) def. Joey Kremer (EMU), 1 up
Philippe Weppernig (EMU) def. Grant Engel (OHIO), 7&6

Seventh-Place Match:
#5 Toledo def. #7 DePaul, 4-2

Tiebreaker System:
Team Matches Tied: Team matches that are tied will be decided by using the following procedure:

If a team match is tied after the completion of the six singles matches, the tie will be broken by comparing the margin of victory of each individual match won for their team.

If a team tie still exists, the team winner will be determined by comparing the number of holes remaining in each match won:

If a team tie still exists, the team winner will be determined by comparing the halved match or matches. These results will be determined by a "scorecard playoff" (scores will be compared by the #1 handicap hole) provided all tied matches have played that hole. Handicap holes will be used until the tie is broken with total scores.

Men's Golf Cruises Past Ohio to Take Fifth at Match Play Event

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Players Mentioned

Beau Breault

Joey Kremer

Jared Multer

Kyle Rodes

Nic Ross

Philippe Weppernig

Eastern Michigan Athletics