Peacocks Retain Golden Feather in Orlando

Upper Iowa 15 - Concordia-St. Paul 12

Peacock Golf

The Peacock men's and women's golf team traveled to Orlando, Florida to open their spring season of competition last week. The two teams combined to compete against the men's and women's teams from Concordia-St. Paul in the second annual Golden Feather. After day one, Upper Iowa had a 5-4 lead over Concordia and needed only 8 ½ points of the available 18 points on day two to retain the Golden Feather. The teams battled in singles competition on day two and day three with Upper Iowa clinging to a 10-8 advantage to retain the Golden Feather by a 15-12 score. The teams played the Golden Feather on the Stony Brook Golf Course in Orlando.

On day one, the teams paired off in two-person pairs and competed against the course in three different formats. On holes 1 through 6, the teams play four ball, which is when each golfer plays their own ball and the low score out of the pair is used. On holes 7 through 12, the teams play alternate shot, which is when both men tee off on three holes and both women tee off on three holes and then alternate shots till the putt is holed out. On holes 13-18, the teams play a scramble, which is when both golfers play each shot from the same spot by deciding which resulting shot best suits their team. UIU's results from day one are below:

Upper Iowa Pair || Result || Team Score
Matt Dahlke & Jessica Lang || Won 7 & 6 || UIU 1-0
Bryan Peck & Rachael Schmidt || Won 3 & 1 || UIU 2-0
Adam Winans & Glenna Meyer || Lost 2 down || UIU 2-1
Nick Kuhle & Jill Preeshl || Won 2 up || UIU 3-1
Tucker Bayler & Rochelle Schmidt || Won 1 up || UIU 4-1
Josh Wells & Lindsey Holien || Lost 4 & 3 || UIU 4-2
Tyler Pederson & Laura Taylor || Halved their match || UIU 4 ½ - 2 ½
Craig Signorin & Kelly Rowe || Halved their match || UIU 5-3
Kyle Reisinger & Troy Northrop || Lost 2 & 1 || UIU 5-4

After day one, Coach Chad Markuson said, "There were some very close matches out there today; five matches lasted until the 18th hole. We really got a big swing as the sun was setting. Tyler and Laura walked up to the 18th tee box down one and needed to win the hole to halve the match. Tyler hit a great drive and stuck his approach shot within 10 feet. Laura gave him a great read on the putt and he left it one revolution shy of the birdie. The par was conceded to us and we salvaged half a point from the match."
Coach Markuson continued, "Craig and Kelly had a close match all day and they thought they were done on 17 when Concordia stuck their approach within 7 feet. But Craig and Kelly did a great job getting up and down for a par, while the Concordia pair missed their birdie putts. We took the momentum of 17 and shot par on 18 to rally from behind and halve the match. Overall, we played well today. Matt Dahlke and Jessica Lang got the ball rolling with a big win and it snowballed from there. The freshman pair of Nick Kuhle and Jill Preeshl played solid and picked each other up during the round. They were one up going into 18 and play solid for a par to go 2 up for the win.

On day two, the weather forced four of the eighteen matches to be cancelled although they were all nearly complete. The Peacocks began the day knowing that 8 ½ points separated them from retaining the Golden Feather for another year. The fourteen singles matches that concluded on day two are below:

Singles Pairing * || Result || Team Score
Jessica Lang & Jennie Schader || Won 7 & 6 || UIU 6-4
Laura Taylor & Amanda Bearson || Lost 2 down || UIU 6-5
Lindsey Holien & Carley Paulseth || Lost 3 & 2 || UIU 6-6
Rochelle Schmidt & Molly Noser || Won 4 & 3 || UIU 7-6
Glenna Meyer & Laura Schelander || Won 3 & 1 || UIU 8-6
Jill Preeshl & Kelsey Walt || Won 4 & 3 || UIU 9-6
Josh Wells & Danny Johnson || Won 3 & 1 || UIU 10-6
Tyler Pederson & Nick Jarett || Halved the match || UIU 10 ½ - 6 ½
Craig Signorin & Scott Mathews || Won 5 & 4 || UIU 11 ½ - 6 ½
Matt Dahlke & Klye Lewis || Won 5 & 4 || UIU 12 ½ - 6 ½
Adam Winans & Garrett Larson || Lost 3 & 2 || UIU 12 ½ - 7 ½
Bryan Peck & Nick Galloway || Lost 2 down || UIU 12 ½ - 8 ½
Tucker Bayler & Matt Alford || Lost 3 & 2 || UIU 12 ½ - 9 ½
Kyle Reisinger & Brett Myers || Lost 6 & 5 || UIU 12 ½ - 10 ½
* Upper Iowa golfer listed first.

The Peacocks entered the final four matches on day three needing only one point to retain the Golden Feather. There was a scare for the Peacocks on day three as midway through the matches; all four UIU golfers were trailing in their matches. Rachael Schmidt trailed by as many as four holes and put together a late rally but fell 3 & 2 to cut the Peacocks' lead to 12 ½-11 ½. Troy Northrop was dormied heading into the sixteenth hole and faced a near impossible challenge. In order to salvage a half point and not surrender the lead, Northrop had to defeat his Golden Bear opponent on each of the final three holes. Northrop was up to the challenge as he won the sixteenth and seventeenth. On the eighteenth, Northrop began to feel momentum pointing in his direction. The sophomore drained a 16-footer for par and placed the pressure squarely on the Concordia golfer's shoulders. Northrop knew he had his half point for the Peacocks as he saw his opponent's 7-foot par putt slide just past the edge of the cup.

All the Peacocks needed was a halve from one of their two remaining matches. Kelly Rowe and Nick Kuhle were both still on the course for UIU. Rowe found herself in trouble between two and three much of the match, but rallied on the back nine as she headed to the tee box on eighteen up one. Both players found the water that protects the eighteenth green, but when Rowe hit her drop shot on the green, the freshman knew she had the win and the full point for the Peacocks. Kuhle played in a very tough match that see-sawed back and forth with both golfers gaining control and then losing it. Kuhle was able to fend off all the challenges from his opponent over the final holes to win the final match of the day one up.

The two victories allowed Upper Iowa to retain the Golden Feather for the second year. "I am very proud of how our young golfers handled themselves on the course over the last three days. There were plenty of chances to get rattled out there and they kept their heads and made good decisions and good shots. I also have to thank the upperclassmen as they provided great leadership throughout the tournament when paired with their younger teammates," added Coach Markuson.

The golf teams will now head back indoors to prepare for their next competition. Both teams will get back on the links when they travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. on Mar. 28 and 29 to compete in the Augustana Invitational hosted by future NSIC-foe, Augustana College.