Rockets to Open Spring with Yestingsmeier Match Play Event in Florida

Monday, February 12

Dade City, Fla.

All Day

University of Toledo

Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play

Junior Spencer Shoemaker and the Rockets will open their spring season on Monday.

Photo by: Toledo Athletics

Rockets to Open Spring with Yestingsmeier Match Play Event in Florida

2/9/2018 11:11:00 AM | Men's Golf

TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo will open its spring season for the fourth-consecutive year at the Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play event on Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 12-13. The seventh-annual tournament will be held at the par-72, 7,153-yard Lake Jovita South Course and be hosted by Mid-American Conference member Ball State University.

"Opening our spring with a match-play tournament is a good way to get things started," first-year Head Coach Jeff Roope said "We're going to get the chance to play outdoors for the first time since the fall, and it will give everyone a chance to work on their games."

The two-day event will consist of 54 holes of match-play competition. Teams are seeded one through eight based upon Golfstat rankings and then placed into a bracket. All teams are guaranteed three matches with losing squads from the first and second rounds continuing to compete in a consolation bracket. Each team match will consist of six individual matches. Lineup order for each squad is based upon individual player Golfweek rankings, with the top-rated player in the No. 1 position and so on.

The first round will begin on Monday at 8:15 a.m. with a shotgun start, followed by continuous play for the second round. The third and final round will be played on Tuesday with an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start as well.

There will be eight teams participating in the season-opening tournament, with two-time reigning champion and No. 1 seed Miami (Golfstat Ranking No. 54), No. 2 Eastern Michigan (105), No. 4 Ball State (138), No. 5 Drake (194), No. 6 DePaul (220), No. 7 Ohio (235) and No. 8 Loyola (Ill.) (269), joining No. 3 seed Toledo (111).

The Rockets, who claimed a share of the 2015 team championship title with EMU, will battle the No. 6 seed Blue Demons in the first round, while the other pairings will consist of the RedHawks vs. Ramblers, Eagles vs. Bobcats and Cardinals vs. Bulldogs. Live scoring and tournament results will be available at http://bit.ly/2H4weFc on Golfstat.

UT's lineup will consist of sophomore Joe Bryce at No. 1, sophomore Thomas Thurloway at No. 2, senior Stephen Watts at No. 3, junior Duncan McNeill at No. 4, senior Colin Joseph at No. 5 and junior Spencer Shoemaker at No. 6.

A year ago, the Rockets went 1-1-1 at the Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play event, falling to Seton Hall, tying Eastern Michigan and defeating DePaul to finish fifth. Bryce won all three matches last year, while Joseph and sophomore Grant Godfrey collected victories in two of the rounds.

The Lake Jovita South Course, designed by Tom Lehman and golf course architect Kurt Sandness, brings with it unique challenges and golf conditions. Taking advantage of the hilly terrain to create a course with professional tour quality, the Par 5-11th hole features a 94-foot drop from tee to green - the largest natural elevation change of any course in the state of Florida.

Formerly known as the Mid-American Match Play, the event was renamed this year in honor of Earl Yestingsmeier, who passed away in January 2014 at age 80. Yestingsmeier spent 36 seasons leading the Ball State men's golf program, including 31 in a dual role as sports information director and golf coach.

Following next week's season-opening event, UT will participate in the Louisiana Classics on Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 26-27 in Lafayette, La.

Previous Champions from Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play: Notre Dame (2017), Eastern Michigan (2016), Eastern Michigan & TOLEDO (2015)*, Ball State (2014), Bowling Green (2013), Ball State (2012)