The Iowa men’s team fired 32-over for a last-place finish at the Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines on Tuesday while the women fared better at the Veritex Bank Collegiate, rallying to an eighth-place finish at 26-over.
In a heated field of nine teams, Hawkeye men’s golf made the trip down south to the Sunshine State of Florida, competing as the host for the Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines in Naples. Despite the warmer weather, though, the Hawkeyes finished at the bottom.
During the first round of the tournament on Sunday, only one Hawkeye was able to muster a round under par with first-year Texas native Ryan Shellberg shooting an impressive 71 for one-under on the day.
Two Hawkeyes, Ian Meyer and Gage Messingham, both fired a round of 75 for three-over while the pair of Chance Rinkol and Max Tjoa both shot 77 for five over. This performance on the first day put Hawkeye golf tied for sixth place.
“I’m pleased with the start,” Iowa head coach Tyler Stith told HawkeyeSports. “We competed well with two top-10 teams today. We gained a lot of confidence from the round but realize we have more work to do the next couple of days.”
Messingham led the Hawkeyes during round two with a round of even-par at 72. Shellberg continued his good play, firing a round of 74, and Tjoa came in with a score of 75 while teammates Meyer and Rinkol both collectively shot 79.
“We played solid on the front, turned at [two-over] but did not play well on the back nine,” Stith said. “Tomorrow we have to do a better job on those holes.”
Messingham again led Iowa on the final day, shooting another round at even-par 72. Tjoa followed Messingham with an impressive round, shooting 74. Two Hawkeyes, Rinkol and Meyer, concluded the final round shooting 76.
With only a few rounds under par, the Iowa men’s team finished with a total team score of 32-over to tie for last place in team standings.
Competing at the Veritex Bank Collegiate in Dallas, Texas, though, the Iowa women finished much closer to the middle against 14 teams.
To start the opening round on Monday, the trio of Hawkeyes consisting of Riley Lewis, Ximena Benites, and Maura Peters came in with a score of one-over 73. Paula Miranda came in with the final score of 77.
During round two, Miranda improved upon her first round and shot a 73 for just one above par alongside teammate Benites. Peters came in with a score of 76 while Lewis rounded out the end of day one with a score of 77.
Coming into the final round with a total team score of 19-over, the Hawkeyes were still sitting in the middle. Miranda finished with three birdies in the back nine to lead the Hawkeyes on the final day, firing a round of 69 for three deep.
Lewis kept her consistent play with a round of 73, and Peters came in with a 75 while Benites concluded the tournament with a 78 for an eighth-place team finish with a 26-over team total.
Up next
The women’s team will now prepare for the conference tournament in Havre de Grace, Maryland, in two weeks while the men will have a short turnaround for the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City from April 13-14.