BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Men's Golf was defeated by Austin Peay in its inaugural home-and-home dual match against the Governors after taking two matches to extra holes.
"First off, hats off to Austin Peay for playing well down the stretch and closing out a great win," head coach Chan Metts said on the hard-fought loss. "We started the day with a hole to dig out of and knew it would be an uphill climb. Our guys fought hard and gave everything they had and we had a chance to win coming down the stretch. That is always the goal in any event."
WKU and Austin Peay played the first half of The Duel in February, and the Governors led 4.5-2.5 headed into the final seven matches. The two teams were playing to 7.5 points to declare a victor. By the end of Monday, APSU won the match 8.5-5.5.
The Hilltoppers opened up the day with wins from freshman Connery Meyer, redshirt senior Tom Bevington and senior Caleb O'Toole. Meyer and Bevington both led their matches throughout the event, eventually winning 3&2 and 2&1, respectively. O'Toole battled back from a 3-Down stance to claim a point for WKU by winning 2&1.
"We won three of the first five matches to give ourselves that chance. The last two matches went to extra holes and provided us with experience that is invaluable," Metts added. "The pressure that we felt coming down the stretch is something that is hard to simulate in qualifying, and even stroke play events. That experience is going to serve us well moving forward."
Both senior Jack Poole and sophomore Luke Fuller got taken to extra holes by the Governors. Poole played a total of 22 holes before falling to his opponent while Fuller played two extras for a total of 20.
Graduate senior Christian Tooley came back from 4-Down on the back nine to win the 14th hole and keep the match alive. He was eventually defeated 3&2. Senior Chase Landrum was also defeated in his match 2&1.
"There was a lot of pain in our guys afterwards," Metts said on the heartbreaker. "My message to them was that the pain cannot weigh us down but must motivate us to dig even deeper and work even harder as we prepare for our next event. I'm proud of these guys and there is no one else I would want to wear the towel with and go into battle than these guys."
"I also want to send a huge thank you to Indian Hills, John Mullendore, and the maintenance staff for hosting us and having the course in perfect condition. We are so lucky to have such an amazing place as one of our home courses."
WKU will play in the Craft Farms Intercollegiate hosted by South Alabama, beginning Sunday, March 28.
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