Men’s Golf, VanHandel wins Illinois College Invitational

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Concordia Wisconsin began the spring portion of its schedule on a positive note by winning the Illinois College Invitational on Sunday at the Links of Jacksonville. In addition, Bailey Van Handel took home medalist honors for his first-place efforts.

THE BASICS
Course: The Links of Jacksonville (par 72)
Team Leaderboard: 1st of 7 (316)
Falcon Individuals: Bailey VanHandel (75), Sam Schlosser (76), Nate Benjamin (77), Andrew Otto (81), Kyle Rebholz (82), Jacob Tenlen (82), Nate Hasenstein (86), Dylan Karvala (86), Nick Szopinski (87), Andrej Buchko (92), Logan Jones (93)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- In less than ideal weather conditions, Concordia Wisconsin played some of its best golf this season to capture first place at the Illinois College Invitational with a team score of 316. The Falcons had sophomore Sam Schlosser (West Bend, Wis.) and freshman Nate Benjamin (Tucson, Ariz.) finish second and fifth place, respectively, towards the top place finish.
- Sophomore Bailey VanHandel (Kaukauna, Wis.) led all players with a career-best 3-over par 75 to take home medalist honors.
- Sophomore Andrew Otto (Kewaskum, Wis.) finished in a tie for 20th place after carding for an 81, while senior Kyle Rebholz (West Bend, Wis.) and junior Jacob Tenlen (Montreal, Wis.) each tied for 22nd with an 82.

BEYOND THE RESULTS
- The Falcons 316 team score is the third best score this season, while VanHandel's 75 is tied for the third best score this year.
- Concordia Wisconsin won the tournament by a stroke over Knox, while VanHandel was a stroke ahead of AJ Jeffers (Illinois College), Schlosser and Hiromitsu Washizu (North Central).

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- Concordia Wisconsin will return to the court this weekend for a two-day, 36-hole tournament at the Knox Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Soangetaha Country Club in Galesburg, Ill.