Panther Mens Golf Preview

CEDAR FALLS, Ia -- The University of Northern Iowa mens golf team will begin their
spring season by traveling to Primm, Nevada for the Jackrabbit Invitational on March
16-17. The tournament is the start of a busy March for the UNI men, who will play
three tournaments throughout the month. On March 19-20, UNI goes to Tulsa,
Oklahoma for the Oral Roberts Shootout. Finally, the UALR First Tee Collegiate
Classic will be held in
Little Rock, Arkansas
on March 30-31.
The Panthers look to
build of a fall season
that saw their
veterans take
leading roles. Junior
Kyle Driscoll and
senior Glenn Walls
led the team in
scoring, shooting
74.6 and 75.0
strokes per round,
respectively. Driscoll
and Walls led the
team in five of their
six tournaments, with sophomore Dustin Atkinson pacing the Panthers at the Bill
Ross Intercollegiate.
While the Panthers played well in the fall, Coach Bermel expects to have even lower
scores in the spring by simply focusing on the basics.
Last fall we really got away from the fundamentals of the game, he said. We will
concentrate a little more on those, make some improvements to their swings and
then well really start to compete.
The Jackrabbit Fall Invitational was the best overall performance for the UNI men,
finishing in fourth place. Walls had the best tournament of the season, shooting a
three-round total of 214 (75-71-68) and tied for third place. Atkinson had his best
round of the season as well, shooting 218 (74-70-74), and tied for eighth place.
Walls and Driscoll were the only two players who had rounds in the 60s during the
fall. Walls posted a 68 twice, during the third round of the Golfweek Challenge and
the Jackrabbit Fall Invitational. Driscoll scored the best round of the season for the
Panthers, shooting a 67 in the second round of the Golfweek Challenge.
Atkinson was an extremely consistent player for the Panthers during the fall
season. He had an average of 76.6 strokes per round, with 14 of 16 rounds in the
70s. The Jackrabbit Fall Invitational was the beginning of a strong stretch for
Atkinson, finishing first or second on the team in the last three tournaments.

Eric Sikkema emerged as a contributor for the men in 2014 and will look to build off
his quality fall performance. After not playing in the first tournament of the season,
Sikkema played in the next five, shooting in the 70s in 11 of 13 rounds. His best
finish came at the Jackrabbit Fall Invitational, shooting a three-round 228 (78-73-77)
and tied for 24th.
Junior Jacob Bermel participated in five of six tournaments during the fall. His best
performance came at Whistling Straits Intercollegiate. Bermel shrugged off a first
round 87, to shoot consecutive 75s to finish tied for 21 st. Bermel finished with a
78.7 strokes per round, and shot a 71 in consecutive rounds at the Golfweek
Challenge.
Sophomore David Spengler entered the lineup in the fourth tournament of the
season, at the Jackrabbit Fall Invitational. Spengler posted his best round of the
season at the Jackrabbit Invite, shooting a 234 (78-77-79) and tying for 34 th place.
In his three tournaments, Spengler averaged 79.1 strokes per round, with his best
round of 75, coming at the John Dallio Memorial.
The Panthers will have a strong core of veteran players that have proven they can
compete with anyone in the MVC, which leads Bermel to believe they could have
what it takes to take home a conference championship when its all said and done.
We have very high expectations for this team, said Bermel. We have four of the
top five back from last spring that was just one stroke out of the lead going into the
final day of the MVC Tournament, so hopefully we can put ourselves back into a
similar position.