WILLMAR, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Men's Golf team was finally able to compete in the state of Minnesota for the first time this spring, joining the rest of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference for the inaugural UMAC Spring Match Play event at Eagle Creek Golf Club. The Eagles competed in five pods in the two-man, best-ball event, and won four of them.
 
Day One
 
In the St. Andrew's Pod, Shane Seiffert (Corcoran, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and Jackson Courteau (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) raced out to a commanding lead and held on for a 4&2 win over their counterparts from UW-Superior, which included defending UMAC medalist Conner Willard. The pair went 2-up in after three holes thanks to a Courteau birdie on the first hole and a Seiffert birdie on the third. The lead grew to 4-up after another Courteau birdie at seven, then ballooned to 5-up at the conclusion of the front nine when Seiffert tallied the only par in the group. The Yellowjackets won holes 10 and 11 to creep back into the match, but steady play from UNW's twosome made the match dormie with three holes to play. Seiffert's birdie on the par-three 16^th clinched the match, and Courteau added one more for good measure on 17. Seiffert finished the round with a score of 74 (+3), while Courteau turned in a 79 (+8).
 
In the Pebble Beach Pod, Gordon Skaar (Coleraine, Minn./Homeschool) and Carson Mersberger (Kiel, Wis./Elkhart Lake-Glenbeaulah) earned a dominant, 5&4 win over a Martin Luther team thanks to six birdies from Skaar. After the first two holes played all-square, Northwestern took the lead with a par on the third and went 2-up on the fifth hole. Skaar birdied the next two to extend the lead to 4-up, which would remain the score heading to the back nine. Both Skaar and Mersberger birdied the 10^th hole to go 5-up, then MLC won its only hole of the match on 11. Skaar took the lost hole right back with a birdie on 12, then pars from Mersberger on holes 13 and 14 clinched the 5&4 win. Since every hole in the event was played out in its entirety to qualify as countable for NCAA statistic standards, Skaar continued to show off with birdies on holes 17 and 18, meaning the Eagles finished the match 9-up when all was said and done. Skaar fired an impressive 73 (+2) for the round, while Mersberger logged an 82 (+11).
 
Next up was the Bethpage Black Pod, where Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) and Carter Dilly (Henning, Minn./Henning) coasted to a 7&5 win over their opponents from UW-Superior. The front nine wasn't the flashiest of showings from the Northwestern duo, but it was enough to build a nearly insurmountable lead. The Eagles went 5-up through six holes despite no birdies on the scorecard yet. The Jackets got one back on hole seven, but Dilly birdied the ninth to take a 5-up lead into the second nine. Dilly's birdie seemed to open up the floodgates, as Frazell opened up the back nine with back-to-back birdies to increase the lead to 7-up with seven holes to play. UWS won the 12^th hole to stay alive, but Dilly closed out the match with a birdie on 13 to win, 7&5. In total, Frazell finished with a 79 (+8), while Dilly tallied an 82 (+11).
 
Jakob Swanson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and Andrew Carlson (Mosinee, Wis./Mosinee) teamed up in the Hazeltine Pod, where they defeated a pair of Minnesota Morris golfers, 3&2, behind a four-birdie round from Swanson in his Northwestern debut. The first nine was a rollercoaster; UNW went 1-up on hole two thanks to a Swanson birdie, lost the next two holes to go 1-down, then won the fifth to square it up. A win on the seventh hole gave the Eagles a 1-up lead heading into the back nine before Swanson birdied 10 and 11 to make it a 3-up match. The Cougars took the 15^th hole to make it 2-up in favor of Northwestern, then Swanson delivered the dagger with a birdie on the par-three 16^th to finish off the 3&2 win. Swanson delivered a 77 (+6) in his first round in purple, and Carlson finished with an 83 (+12).
 
In the Erin Hills Pod, UNW actually had three golfers participating. Trevor Zenk (Forest Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) and Dawson Burke (Rogers, Minn./Maple Grove) faced off with a twosome from Martin Luther, while Sam Schwarz (Marshall, Minn./Marshall) was paired with a Morris player and took on a team from Bethany Lutheran. Zenk and Burke raced out to a 5-up lead through six holes, which included a birdie from Zenk on six. They pushed the lead to 6-up entering the final nine and wrapped it up by the 11^th hole, winning 8&7. The dynamic duo led by as much as 11-up after another Zenk birdie on the par-four 17^th. Zenk turned in a 79 (+8) for the round, while Burke finished with an 89 (+18). Schwarz and his teammate also won in commanding fashion, 7&6. They were 5-up after nine holes and clinched the match on the 12^th hole when Schwarz parred. Out of 10 winning holes for Schwarz's team, his ball was used eight times. His ball was used on 13 of the 18 holes as well.
 
Each team that featured Northwestern will play for its pod championship on Saturday at Eagle Creek, beginning at 8:30 AM. Schwarz, Zenk and Burke may have the most anticipated matchup of the group, as their respective teams will battle each other for the Erin Hills Pod crown.
 
Day Two
 
Championship Saturday began with a bang as Shane Seiffert (Corcoran, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and Jackson Corteau's title match versus Bethany Lutheran in the St. Andrew's Pod came down to the final hole, with the Eagles pulling out a 1-up victory. After an all-square opening four holes, the UNW duo took a 1-up lead on the par-four fifth. The two teams halved the next six holes until BLC was able to even the match at the 12^th. Courteau came through with a massive birdie on the 13^th to put his team back in front, and they were able to fend off the Vikings the rest of the way, thanks in part to a clutch birdie from Seiffert on the 17^th hole to halve it. Seiffert shot his second 74 (+3) in as many days, while Corteua carded an 80 (+9).
 
Gordon Skaar (Coleraine, Minn./Homeschool) and Carson Mersberger's (Kiel, Wis./Elkhart Lake-Glenbeaulah) championship match in the Pebble Beach Pod saw far less drama, as the pair rolled to a 7&6 win over their counterparts from Bethany Lutheran. Mersberger set the tone with an eagle on the first hole, and UNW steadily increased its lead to 3-up through six. Another Mersberger birdie at the par-four eighth put his team 4-up, heading into the second nine. After no birdies on the front nine, Skaar began to cook. Birdies on 10, 12, 13 and 14, with a Mersberger birdie sprinkled in on 11, sealed the match with six holes to play. The dynamic duo did not lose a single hole to the Vikings and ended up winning by nine holes when all was said and done. Mersberger fired a 73 (+2), which tied him for the second-lowest total of the day. Skaar finished with a 77 (+6) after a back-nine 35 (-1).
 
In the Bethpage Black Pod championship match, Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) and Carter Dilly (Henning, Minn./Henning) did not quite experience the same success as their teammates. The young duo lost the first two holes before a Dilly birdie at the par-four fourth put them 1-down. They would not win another hole until the 17^th, when Frazell made birdie for the first time, and well after their 7&6 loss had been decided. Frazell finished the day with a score of 90 (+19), while Dilly shot an 85 (+14).
 
Northwestern got back to its winning ways in the Hazeltine Pod title match, as Jakob Swanson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and Andrew Carlson (Mosinee, Wis./Mosinee) ended up playing a solo golfer from North Central due to his teammate withdrawing, and came away with a 6&4 win. A birdie from Carlson gave the Eagles the lead after two holes, which increased to 3-up through five. The NCU player got one back on the seventh hole before Swanson answered with a par on eight to 3-up once more. The lead grew to 4-up after 12 and the match went dormie after another Swanson par on 13. Carlson's par on the par-four 14^th clinched the match, and the freshman added a birdie on 17 en route to an 8-up win through 18 holes. Swanson finished a productive first tournament as an Eagle with a 77 (+6) on Saturday, while Carlson turned in an 87 (+16).
 
Northwestern's final match of the day was the one everyone had been waiting for, as it pitted Trevor Zenk (Forest Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) and Dawson Burke (Rogers, Minn./Maple Grove) against teammate Sam Schwarz (Marshall, Minn./Marshall), who was paired with a Minnesota Morris player. Zenk and Burke got on the board thanks to a Zenk par on the third hole, then went 2-up after four. A Zenk birdie on the par-three sixth put his team 3-up, and the next hole the lead grew to 4-up. Schwarz and his teammate won the eighth hole to get back to 3-down heading to the back nine. Zenk birdied the 11^th hole to get back to 4-up, then parred 13 to make the match dormie with five holes to play. Burke delivered the dagger with a par on the par-four 14^th to take the match, 6&4, and claim the Erin Hills Pod championship. Zenk paced his team with an 83 (+12), while Burke shot a 94 (+23). Schwarz finished with a score of 90 (+18).
 
Up Next

After a successful day that featured four pod wins, the Eagles will now turn their attention to the MLC Spring Invite, set to take place Thursday, April 24^th at 10:00 AM in New Ulm.