Southern Illinois fired a three-round 295-285-294--874 to earn a 17-stroke victory at the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship, and the Salukis will represent the MVC in the NCAA Regionals. The 17-stroke margin was the largest for an MVC champ since 2015. Valparaiso's second-place 300-297-294--891 showing in the men's standings, meanwhile, was its highest as an MVC member.
Teams played 54 holes over three days at the par-72, 7,014-yard layout at the Country Club of Paducah, in Paducah, Ky.
The next three positions in the team standings after SIU and Valpo were tight as Illinois State earned third place (903), while Drake (908) and Missouri State (909) were right behind. Only five strokes, meanwhile, separated sixth from ninth place.
Valparaiso's Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) had a back nine for the ages in Round 3. The freshman is going to the NCAA Tournament after winning medalist honors and the MVC individual crown thanks to an unforgettable day. He posted six birdies and three pars on the back nine to finish those holes in 30 strokes (-6) and card a 67 (-5) for the day, completing the event with a 54-hole score of 213 (-3, 74-72-67). His performance helped Valpo finish as the team runner-up, the program’s seventh top-2 finish of the season. He garnered Newcomer of the Year honors, and he also joined teammate Caleb VanArragon on the 10-player All-Conference Team. VanArragon also earned the league's Elite 17 Award, presented to the student-athlete who finishes among the Top 18 and holds the highest cumulative grade point average.
SIU's Matthis Besard was voted the league's Golfer of the Year by head coaches and was runner-up to Delisanti, finishing 71-74-69--214. He and Delisanti were the only two players to break par over the 54- hole event. Missouri State's Max Kreikemeier was an even-par 216 and finished third in the field. All five Saluki golfers finished in the Top 14 to help Southern Illinois to its third team title in the past six MVC Championships. Besard was joined by Tom Cleaton (t4), Markus Wilhelmsen (7th), Birgir Magnusson (t10) and Braden Hoisington (t14) on the leaderboard.
In addition to Newcomer of the Year and Golfer of the Year, coaches voted on the 2022 Coach of the Year, and the honor went to SIU's Danielle Kaufman. She's the third coach from SIU to earn Coach of the Year.
ALL-CONFERENCE
Matthis Besard, Southern Illinois
Tom Cleaton, Southern Illinois
Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso
Joe Hodgson, Illinois State
Devin Johnson, Loyola
Max Kreikemeier, Missouri State
Tim Lim, Drake
Griffin Parker, UNI
Caleb VanArragon, Valparaiso
Felix van Dijk, Illinois State
Golfer of the Year: Matthis Besard, Southern Illinois
Newcomer of the Year: Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso
Coach of the Year: Danielle Kaufman, Southern Illinois
Elite 17: Caleb VanArragon, Valparaiso
Medalist: Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso
DAY TWO RECAP (MONDAY)
Southern Illinois carries a 17-stroke lead into the final 18 holes of the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship. The league's nine men's golf teams will complete the tournament on Tuesday, April 26.
For the second-straight day, the Salukis fired a tournament-low round, this time a 285, and SIU has a two-day 295-285=580 to outdistance second-place Valparaiso (300-297=597). Three other teams are right behind as Drake, Illinois State, and Missouri State enter Tuesday's final round with a team score of 601.
The Redbirds showed the biggest one-day improvement as a team, firing 25 strokes better than their first-round 313, which helped ISU climb into a tie for third place. Notably, seven of the league's nine teams improved their team scores from Sunday during Monday's round. The Salukis are in position for their third team crown since 2016 in MVC men's golf, while Valparaiso (fourth last year) is seeking its best team finish as an MVC member.
Max Kreikemeier of Missouri State has the individual lead after 36 holes. He followed up his 74 in Sunday's first round with a score of 67 on Monday. The 67 ties the third-best 18-hole score at an MVC Championship (since 1956). He has a three-stroke lead over Tom Cleaton of Southern Illinois. Cleaton fired a 69 on Tuesday and has an even-par 144 after 36 holes.
Two golfers are tied for third with 145, including Matthis Besard of Southern Illinois and Felix van Dijk of Illinois State. A pair of Beacons are right behind at 146 as Anthony Delisanti and Caleb VanArragon of Valparaiso have fired identical 74-72=146 scores over the first two days of the tournament. Five golfers were under par on Monday (after only two were better than 72 on Sunday).
After 36 holes, three par-3 holes (2, 6, 14) have proven the most challenging to play, while the par-5, 532-yard Hole 11 has been the easiest, as five eagles have occurred on that hole. Seven different golfers have carded an eagle, and Tom Cleaton of SIU is the only with two. Notably, Felix van Dijk of ISU and Max Kreikemeier of MSU lead the field with eight birdies through 36 holes.
DAY ONE RECAP (SUNDAY)
Three teams separated themselves from the rest of the field after 18 holes of play at the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship. Southern Illinois (295), Drake (298) and Valparaiso (300) are 1-2-3 in the league's nine-team field after the first day of play.
Southern Illinois finds itself in the team lead after the first day as four Salukis placed in the Top 10 in the individual standings, led by the league's top-rated player Matthis Besard. Besard is the individual co-leader after 18 holes after shooting a one-under 71 on Sunday. Birgir Magnusson was next-best for SIU with a two-over 74, which tied him for third place.
Drake has a pair of golfers among the individual leaders after Sunday, including co-leader Silvester Tan, who matched Besard's 71 for the league's top spot after 18 holes. Lucas Scherf was Drake's next-best finisher, as he shot a 74. Valpo is third after 18 holes, and the Beacons were led by two golfers at 74 (Caleb VanArragon and Anthony Delisanti). Three others tied for third place in the individual standings (two-over 74), including Max Kreikemeier of Missouri State, Josh Kirkham of Bradley, and Roy Radke of Bradley.
In the team standings, following SIU-Drake-Valpo, Bradley finds itself seven strokes out of third place with a 307, followed by Missouri State (309), Loyola (310), Illinois State (313), Evansville (316), and UNI (321).