The Kent State men’s golf team headed to the Mid-American Conference Championship after a second-place finish in the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate event on Sunday.

The event, hosted by the Ohio State University, had 17 teams competing in it.

“I think it went well– we put ourselves in a position to win,” coach Jon Mills said. “Anytime you go into the last round with a chance to win, I think that’s a great thing. We got off to somewhat of a decent start and kind of hung in there.”

OSU was the only team ranked by Golfstat in the event. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 25 in the country and the only team to place better than Kent State over the weekend.

“We had some guys playing well, but then we went through somewhat of a stretch on the back nine that really hurt. It seemed like everyone was making bogeys at the same time,” Mills said. “Going forward, I think we just have to clean that up a little bit and not let tough conditions affect our attitude and play. But overall, I’m very proud of the guys and I feel like we got some nice momentum going into that championship.”

Mills said that the team was at an advantage, being close to the event.

“It always plays a factor – anytime we’re close to home, we get more people watching us and we had great support from our players and families and even some staff came out so it’s always nice to have that,” he said. “The team and the guys appreciate that as well. With the golf course in general, a lot of guys have played it, so using that experience on that golf course helps a lot.”

Day 1

In the first round of play, Kent State was led by seniors Cade Breitenstine and Chris Vandette.

Breitenstine shot a four-under par (67) while Vandette shot a two-under par (69).

At the end of day one, Breitenstine was at the top of the individual leaderboard, while Vandette was tied for third.

The other three Flashes participating in the event placed in the Top-30.

As a team, KSU was in first at the end of the day, shooting a four-under par (280).

Day 2

The second round was split into two days due to inclement weather.

Pouring rain pushed part of the second round to Saturday.

“We were well prepared for that,” Mills said. “We knew ahead of time that we were going to have some weather issues and we prepared them to expect anything when it came to delays and I thought they did a good job of dealing with that – it definitely challenged you mentally.”

Vandette continued to dominate the event, posting another two-under par (69) performance, putting him at the top of the individual leaderboard at the end of day two with a four-under par (138).

Breitenstine shot a four-over par (75), putting him at an even-par (142) and finishing with a tie for sixth place spot on the individual leaderboard after the second day of competition.

The team was at five-over (573) and slid to second place on the team leaderboard, with the host OSU overtaking first place.

KSU was nine strokes behind OSU after the second day.

Day 3

The third and final round was played on Sunday, the last day of competition.

Vandette shot a four-over par (75) on the last round of play, leaving him with an even-par (213) at the conclusion of the event.

Vandette ended in a tie for second place on the individual leaderboard with his result.

“I’ve really been pleased with how he’s played in the last couple of weeks and when I see him he’s super motivated and really driven to play well,” Mills said. “Having a chance to win, I’m hoping, sparked him to be there a little more often. I think he’s obviously talented enough, so I really like where he’s trending.”

Breitenstine shot a five-over par (76) in the last round of play, putting him in a tie for 10th place individually.

Sophomore Jordan Gilkison shot a two-over par (73) to end his event with a total score of six-over par (219).

Gilkison’s third round put him in a tie for 14th place at the end of the event.

The team shot a 16-over par (300) on the last day, finishing with a total score of 21-over par (873).

The score was good enough for second place – the team was 19 strokes behind the first place team Ohio State, who finished with a two-over par (854).

The second place finish was tied for the team’s best finish this season.

The result was the best of the spring season. The team tied for second place at the Gopher Invitational on Sept. 11, and the Windon Memorial Event on Sept. 26, during the fall season.

Mills said the reason for the upward trend is due to “A lot of hard work and trying to accomplish our team goals.”

“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we have to play well, and I think they’ve definitely risen to the occasion,” he said. “I hope obviously they continue with that.”

Mills added that the team is playing with a lot of confidence ahead of the MAC Championship.

“We’re definitely more confident than looking back in the fall,” Mills said. Our fall was a little bit inconsistent so we’re starting to see a little bit more consistency out of the guys and that’s what’s needed to play well at this level.”

Looking ahead

The next event for the team will be the MAC Championship.

The event will start Apr. 30 and will run until May 2, taking place in Athens, Alabama.

“We’re not going to do anything different than what we’ve been doing,” Mills said. “Obviously our goal is to win – I think every team’s goal is to win, but our plan will be to just do what we can control.”

Kent State looks to win its seventh title in a row.

Last season, the Flashes won their 28th overall conference championship and Gilkison won the individual title.

In that championship, Kent State won by three strokes with a 17-over par (881).

Gilkison shot a one-over par (217) on his way to the individual title.

Kent State has the most conference titles – 10 more than the next best Ohio Bobcats, and has won 12 titles since the 2009 season.

“We’re going to start by working hard this week and putting in as much time and effort into this week preparing for the event so we can go down there and play carefree,” Mills said. “If we can do those things, hopefully we have an opportunity to win on that final day.”

John Hilber is a reporter. Contact him at j[email protected]