MEN'S GOLF: Eckberg, Puetz head to Nationals
By Billy Cruz
Assistant Sports Editor
The golf teams’ hopes of advancing as a team to the NJCAA nationals at the Palm Valley Golf Club on May 20-25, 2002 in Phoenix, Ariz. fell short in regional play during the first weekend in October, as Waubonsee College edged out the IVCC linksters by just one stroke.
Illinois Valley shot a 312 as a team on day one and recorded a 321 on the second day to finish the region tournament with a 633, one point behind Waubonsees’ 632, while the teams battled horrid weather conditions with 20 mph winds and wind chills that dipped into the low 30’s.
"I felt that the weather actually equalized the field and made for an exciting second day," said coach Jim Moskalewicz.
Timothy Eckberg led the IVCC golfers on the first day of action with a 75, followed by Tim Puetz’ 78, Tony Andreoni’s 79, and Craig McConville’s 80. IVCC led Waubonsee by three strokes heading into the second day of play, but fell short as Eckberg led IV again with a 77. Puetz and Cory Riordan followed up with 80’s, while McConville posted an 84. Eckberg finished the tournament with a 3rd place finish overall and Puetz 11th, placing them on the All-Regional squad.
Although IVCC will not advance as a team, Moskalewicz was pleased with his team’s performance throughout the season.
"We did better than I expected we would," said the coach. "From a team standpoint we did very well this fall.
With Eckberg and Puetz advancing to the nationals, Moskalewicz has confidence that both can fare well at the national level.
"They are both talented and I feel they can make the All-American team," said the IVCC mentor. They are both capable of doing that. (Timothy) Eckberg and (Tim) Puetz have played great all season for us. Puetz carried us all season long and then slumped a bit towards the end of the season. The timing was just unfortunate for him."
Moskalewicz is hoping that Andreoni and McConville will be able to compete at nationals, as they were named alternates for the national competition.
"Perhaps my biggest goal for nationals is to have the opportunity to play as a team," said Moskalewicz. "Tony (Andreoni) is a sophomore and deserves the experience and Craig (McConville) is just a freshman so that would be great for him to have the chance to build for next year."