Zach Perry

SDSU men’s golf coach Jared Baszler was straightforward when asked what he wanted to see from his team in the Beu/Mussatto Invitational.

“One thing: beat Western Illinois on their home golf course,” Baszler said. “Trent [Peterson] defending his individual crown would be icing on the cake.”

Coach Baszler got exactly what he asked for. The SDSU men’s golf team shot a 600 (300-300) to take the title at the Beu/Mussatto Invitational, with Peterson finishing the tournament as the top individual golfer.

The event took place April 20-21 in Macomb, Ill. at the 6,862-yard, par-72 Harry Mussatto Golf Course. The tournament was shortened to two rounds due to windy conditions.

The Jackrabbits finished six strokes ahead of the home team Western Illinois. The Leathernecks took second place with a two-round 606 (303-303)

SDSU’s win was the fourth for the team on the season but just the first victory in a spring tournament, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. With the Summit League Championships just around the corner, the Jacks may have finally shaken off the rust from the winter break.

The Jackrabbits were once again lead by Trent Peterson, who won the individual championship for the second year in a row after finishing two-under par at 142 (68-74). The event marks the seventh time this season that Peterson has finished a tournament in the top 10.

Kyle Vandevoort finished in seventh place after shooting a second-round 74 to card a two-round total of 152 (78-74). The top-10 finish was the first of Vandevoort’s career. Tim Kalil also posted a solid score of 153 (75-78) which was good enough to tie for eighth.

Geoff Mead and Justin Jenkins rounded out the scoring for the team with scores of 155 (80-75) and 156 (79-77) respectively. Mead finished in a tie for 19th while Jenkins ended the tournament tied in 25th.

Aaron Pearson (77-69 – 146) of Green Bay and Kyle Peterman (72-74 – 146) of Western Illinois finished tied for second in the individual competition at two-over.

Ben Engle of IUPUI finished in fourth place at 148 (74-74) while Dusty Drenth (71-80) of St. Ambrose and Scott Belcher (71-80) of Illinois-Springfield tied for fifth at 151.

Indian Hills Community College took third place in the team competition (309-304 -613), while Wisconsin-Green Bay finished in fourth (312-307 -619).

Creighton rounded out the top-five with a team score of 624 (311-313).

Next up for the SDSU is the Summit League Championships to be held April 27-28 in Kansas City, Mo. Last year the Jacks finished fifth in the event.

The Jacks will then wrap up the 2008-09 season May 2-3 at the Dakota Cup in Morton, Minn.