Friday, February 4
Palm Coast, Fla. (Hammock Beach Resort)
Michigan State University
vs
Big Ten Match Play Championship
Michigan State Advances to Semifinals of Big Ten Match Play Championship
2/4/2022 7:26:00 PM | Men's Golf
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State men's golf opened Big Ten Match Play Championship competition with a 4-1 win over Wisconsin on Friday afternoon on the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Fla.
The Spartans, the No. 3 seed in the field, received a first-round bye and played the sixth-seeded Badgers, who beat No. 11 seed Maryland, 4-1, in the morning.
"We had a good round and I was pleased with our performance for our first day of play," Head Coach Casey Lubann said. "The guys came out strong in our first competitive round of the season and that was a good start. Credit to Wisconsin, they really battled today and we were fortunate to get the win. We're looking forward to a great match on Saturday against a very good Northwestern team."
Michigan State won four matches in the afternoon round, with victories from James Piot (1up), Brad Smithson (2&1); August Meekhof (3&2) and Troy Taylor (2UP). Freshman Ashton McCulloch lost his match 5&4.
Piot had the early lead in his match, winning three of the first four holes, but Wisconsin's Cameron Huss fought back to tie with four holes to play. Piot posted a birdie on the final hole to claim the win.
Smithson won the first two holes on the back nine to take a 3-hole lead over Coalter Smith. He maintained his lead through the back before closing out his win with one hole left.
Meekhof won the last three holes on the front nine against Jacob Beckman and extended his lead to four with a win on the second hole of the back and closed out his with two holes to play.
Taylor was in a tight match from the start, with eight ties through the first 15 holes, but he won two of the final three to close out his win over Wisconsin's Robbie Morway.
This is the second-straight year the Spartans have advanced to the semifinals. Michigan State will play No. 7 seed Iowa and the other match features top-seeded Purdue and No. 4 Indiana.
The Spartans, the No. 3 seed in the field, received a first-round bye and played the sixth-seeded Badgers, who beat No. 11 seed Maryland, 4-1, in the morning.
"We had a good round and I was pleased with our performance for our first day of play," Head Coach Casey Lubann said. "The guys came out strong in our first competitive round of the season and that was a good start. Credit to Wisconsin, they really battled today and we were fortunate to get the win. We're looking forward to a great match on Saturday against a very good Northwestern team."
Michigan State won four matches in the afternoon round, with victories from James Piot (1up), Brad Smithson (2&1); August Meekhof (3&2) and Troy Taylor (2UP). Freshman Ashton McCulloch lost his match 5&4.
Piot had the early lead in his match, winning three of the first four holes, but Wisconsin's Cameron Huss fought back to tie with four holes to play. Piot posted a birdie on the final hole to claim the win.
Smithson won the first two holes on the back nine to take a 3-hole lead over Coalter Smith. He maintained his lead through the back before closing out his win with one hole left.
Meekhof won the last three holes on the front nine against Jacob Beckman and extended his lead to four with a win on the second hole of the back and closed out his with two holes to play.
Taylor was in a tight match from the start, with eight ties through the first 15 holes, but he won two of the final three to close out his win over Wisconsin's Robbie Morway.
This is the second-straight year the Spartans have advanced to the semifinals. Michigan State will play No. 7 seed Iowa and the other match features top-seeded Purdue and No. 4 Indiana.
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