Dates: April 16-18
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,251
Total Holes: 54
Format: 36 holes Sat. and 18 holes Sun. Play will begin with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start Saturday and an 8 a.m start Sunday.
The Field: (18) Kansas State, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Marshall, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, Toledo, Wisconsin, Xavier, Ohio State.

The Robert Kepler Intercollegiate Lineup
Name Yr-Exp Rnds. Avg.
Ben Kern So-1L 17 72.29
Aaron Watkins Sr-3L 25 73.36
Josh Persons So-1L 16 75.00
Matt Van Cleave Jr-1L 25 73.56
Tim Moody Sr-1L 14 74.07

Setting the Scene
The No. 35 Kansas State men’s golf team will conclude its regular season this weekend (April 16-18) in Columbus, Ohio at the 35th annual Robert Kepler Intercollegiate hosted by Ohio State. It will mark the second consecutive appearance for the Wildcats in the 18-team Kepler Intercollegiate played on the Ohio State University Scarlet Golf Course.

Last Time Out
K-State struggled to get into a rhythm at the Boilermaker Invitational last weekend (April 10-11), and had its worst finish of the season, finishing 12th of 18 teams. Before the Boilermaker Invitational, the Wildcats had finished seventh or better in all eight of their tournaments. Leading the way for the Wildcats was Ben Kern, who finished tied for 27th after carding rounds of 75, 72 and 74 for a total of 221.

2003 at the Kepler
At last year’s Kepler Intercollegiate, the Wildcats finished a disappointing 11th after carding a total of 313-303-307923. Host, Ohio State won the team title with a score of 893. Individually, Aaron Watkins led the way for the Wildcats as he tied for 19th with at 227. A.J. Elgert and Josh Persons tied for 47th with totals of 233. Matt Van Cleave tied for 58th at 235, while Greg Douglas tied for 60th with a 236. Toledo’s Brad Heaven was last year’s medalist with a score of 219.

The Field
At first glance, if you didn’t know any better, you might think this is the Big Ten Conference or MAC Conference Tournament. Ten of the 11 members of the Big Ten Conference, less No. 11 Minnesota, are participating this weekend at the 18-team Kepler Intercollegiate, while six of the 14 schools from the MAC will also be there. The tournament should give the Wildcats an idea of how they would fair in the Big Ten. K-State (Big 12) and Xavier (A-10) are the only two institutions not from either respective conference. The Wildcats have an overall record of 22-6 against the field with two of the losses coming vs. Illinois. The Wildcats are 1-2 against the Illini this season. Including K-State, seven schools in the field are ranked in the Golfweek/Sagarin poll released on April 13. K-State is the highest ranked team at No. 35. The field includes No. 37 Toledo, No. 40 Northwestern, No. 42 Indiana, No. 45 Illinois, No. 47 Kent State and No. 49 Purdue.

Taking on the Competition
The Wildcats continue to defeat opponents on the links, posting an overall record of 76-28-1 (.730) vs. D-I opponents.

Poll Watching
Highest Position
Date Rank
9-21 9

Lowest Position
3-24,4-13 35

Current Position
4-13 35