By Grace Long, Staff Writer
Newman University’s men’s golf team is having its best season in more than a decade and is ranked fourth in the MIAA standings — the team’s highest ranking since joining the conference in 2019.
Last weekend, the men competed in the Firekeeper Open in Mayetta and posted a team score of 929, finishing in 18th place overall. The Jets’ next tournament is the MIAA Championship, which is a three-day, 54-hole tournament that runs April 21-23 in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Head men’s golf coach Lon Flippo, in his second year with the program, said that senior Chase Martel, junior Braxton Muldoon, junior Charlie Townsend, and first-year Tomas Asgeirsson have all been standout performers this season, each bringing different strengths.
Flippo said that his goal for the MIAA championship is to finish in the top four and that the margin for success is a tightrope between confidence and frustration.
“Most often, it comes down to one shot,” Lippo said. “Just one.”
The key to the team’s success at the tournament, Lippo said, isn’t technical adjustments or more practice. It’s for the men to believe in themselves.
“We’ve beaten every team in the conference except one,” Lippo said. “We have proved that we can play with anyone. Can we sustain that belief for 54 holes?”
As the team continues to prepare for the MIAA Championship, Lippo’s message to the team stays the same: “all in, all the time.”
PHOTO: Courtesy, Newman Athletics
