Iowa State following NIT title
(Iowa State Athletics Photo)
TUCSON, AZ (February 28, 2017) -- Iowa State captured it's second title of the season at the National Invitational Tournament with an impressive 32-under total and a five shot win.
It was a wire-to-wire win for the Cyclones who held off No. 23 UNLV and Arizona State down the stretch. Senior Nick Voke led the team with three straight rounds in the 60's (66-68-69) for a tied second finish individually. Freshman Denzel Ieremia also played exceptionally well, posting rounds of 68-67-69 to place in a tie for fourth.
"This is a really special win for the program," Iowa State head coach Andrew Tank said. "Our guys have been putting in a lot of work and it's great to see it pay off.
Arizona State finished in tied for second at 27-under 837 (280-270-287) with UNLV (278-277-282).
Sun Devil freshman Chun An Yu fired a final round 8-under 64 that included eight birdies and an eagle. The clutch finish pushed An Yu to 17-under and it helped earn him medalist honors for the first time in his career.
-Iowa State Athletics contributed to this story
DAY ONE RECAP
A trio of teams went very low on the first day of the National Invitational but it was Iowa State who had the best day and holds the lead. After a 36-hole day on Monday at Sewailo Golf Club the Cyclones are 27-under and one shot in front of Arizona State (-26) and five clear of No. 23 UNLV (-21).
Helping the Cyclones to the lead was Nick Voke. The senior combined rounds of 66-68 and at 10-under he is part of a three-way tie for the individual lead.
Voke, a first team All-Big 12 performer last year, only carded three bogeys on Monday while countering with 11 birdies and an eagle.
Joining Voke in the lead are UNLV teammates junior Shintaro Ban (67-67) and sophomore Harry Hall (68-66).
Ban turned in a bogey-free first round before eagling once, birdieing five times and bogeying twice in the second round. On Tuesday Ban will be in search of his second career win after capturing the 2016 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate.
For Hall, the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, it was a mistake free day of golf that also included eight birdies and an eagle.
Tim Widing (San Francisco), Chun An Yu (Arizona State), Alex Del Rey Gonzalez (Arizona State) and Denzel Ieremia (Iowa State) are tied for fourth at 9-under.
Sitting just a stroke further back is ASU's Jared du Toit who won his first individual title since joining the Sun Devils in his last start at The Prestige at PGA West.
ABOUT THE
National Invitational
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by the
University of Arizona. Team (best four scores of five
players each day) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information