On Monday, the Wheeling University Men's Golf team kicked off day one of the 2023 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships at the Avalon Lakes Country Club. For four of the five Cardinal golfers, it was their first MEC Championship experience as they were competing against the best of the best in the conference. It was a day of ups and downs for the team, and they finished 10th with a team score of 340 after the first 18 holes.

The men teed off in the morning timeslot to start things out with Senior Nick Zaller beginning the day at 8:10, followed by Ryan Courtney (8:20), Robin Duzmann (8:40), MJ Darmawan (8:50), and Phillip Halvorsen (9:00). It was the final golfer on that list that would lead the way as Halvorsen sits +9 at 81 after 18 holes. His work on the back nine was impressive as he was just three over par through the first nine holes. He started the day on hole 10 with a par and added a birdie on hole 11 to go to -1 through two holes. He went back to even on hole 12 before knocking out four birdies in the final six holes to finish at +3. However, the front nine was where he would find his struggles, finishing at +6 to bring his total round score to +9. He sits in a tie for 31st in the field after one round and looks to continue to make improvements as he moves on to day two.

MJ Darmawan was up next for the Cardinals, shooting an 84 for the afternoon in his first MEC Championship event. After bogeying the first two holes, Darmawan came back with an impressive birdie put on hole 16 that got him back into the game. He would end the back nine at a respectable +6. He would duplicate that effort on the back nine and sits in a tie for 41st in the field with an 84 after 18 holes. Finishing behind him was the veteran of the group in senior Nick Zaller, who shot an 87 to sit tied for 46th. Unlike his teammates, it was the back nine that gave Zaller fits, before he turned it around with a solid +6 on the front nine. His best hole of the day was hole 7, where he sank a birdie put to end his afternoon on a high note.

Rounding out the Cardinals lineup were a pair of freshman in Robin Duzmann and Ryan Courtney. Both shot identical 88s in their first round of play. After two bad holes did him in on the back nine, Courtney came back and shot the best nine-hole score of the day, finishing at +5 for the front nine. The run included four pars and a birdie on hole three that brought his confidence back up. Duzmann got off to a hot start on the back nine, hitting par on three of the first four holes before ending at +7. He added a +9 score on the front nine, hitting par on holes 3, 4, 6, and 7. Both were able to bring up their confidence at the end of the round and looks to carry that with them into day two.

As the field currently sits, the men would have to drop 22 strokes off their score in order to qualify for day three of competition. West Liberty and Notre Dame College currently sit tied for sixth in the team standings, with identical scores of 318 after the first 18 holes. The Cardinals are currently 18 strokes behind Concord and 19 strokes behind West Virginia State as they look to come back with a strong showing in round two to earn their spot on the day three championship list at Avalon Lakes Country Club.

Round two of the MEC Men's Golf Championship is set to tee-off on Tuesday, October 3rd, with the men beginning at noon. You can follow along with Live Results throughout the day by clicking HERE.