BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team put together one of its best two-round performances of the season on Monday, positioning itself in second place at the SBU Invitational. The Griffons had solid performances across their lineup, but were led by Patrick McCarthy, who sits just one stroke back of the individual leader after day one.

Missouri Western’s consistency throughout the lineup led to a two-round total of 597. Out of the 16 teams competing, the Griffons were one of just two teams with their bottom scorer still inside the top-40. After their solid performance in the first two rounds, the Griffons trail Central Missouri by five strokes heading into Tuesday.

McCarthy is currently tied for second after his combined score of 145 (+1) on Monday. He had the best single-round score of all 81 golfers, shooting a 70 (-2) in the opening round. McCarthy followed his stellar first round with a 75 (+3) in the second round. He is now slotted just one stroke back of Central Missouri’s Cole Dillon for the lead.

Lucas Horseman shot a 151 over the first two rounds. He opened the tournament with a 76 (+4) in the first round, but shaved one stroke off in the second round with a 75 (+3) to jump 11 spots and sit tied for 15th.

One stroke behind Horseman is Tom Buffington, who scored a 152 on Monday. Buffington struggled in the opening round with an 80 (+8), but bounced back for a score of 72 (E) in the second. His second-round score was the second-best score for Missouri Western on the day, behind McCarthy’s 70.

Cole Roberts is tied for 25th with a score of 153 while Jake Mikesch shot a 155 to round out the scoring for the Griffons.

Missouri Western will look to continue momentum in the third round on Tuesday morning.

— MWSU Athletics —

KEARNEY, Neb. – In the team’s final match before the MIAA Championships, Missouri Western (11-12, 2-7 MIAA) fell to Nebraska Kearney (14-12, 3-6 MIAA) in an afternoon road match. The Lopers topped the Griffons 6-1, winning five out of six singles matches after a competitive series of doubles matches.

Nebraska Kearney escaped with the doubles point after two back-and-forth matches on the number one and two courts. Karolina Ström and Joanna Abreu Roman fell by a score of 6-4 in their match. Despite the loss, Ström and Abreu Roman have won seven of their last 10 doubles matches. In the final doubles match, Mireia Birosta and Erica Dunn fell by the same score, giving the Lopers the advantage entering singles.

Missouri Western lost the first five singles matches. Both Abreu Roman and Federica Salmaso suffered narrow losses in their matches. After splitting the first two sets with her opponent, Abreu Roman was edged 10-8 in the third and final set in her last regular season match.

Bojana Vuksan gave Missouri Western its lone win in the singles. Vuksan outlasted her opponent for a 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 victory. Monday’s win gives Vuksan her 10^th of the season, and is also her second-straight win.

The Griffons will have over one week away from competition before they travel to Oklahoma City for the MIAA Championships beginning on April 26.

MWSU VS. UNK
SINGLES
#45 Vasilisa Polunova (UNK) def. Karolina Ström (MWSU) 6-3, 6-1
Zhanel Turarbek (UNK) def. Mireia Birosta (MWSU) 6-2, 6-0
Sherry Sun (UNK) def. Joanna Abreu Roman (MWSU) 5-7, 6-3, 10-8
Fidan Ibrahimova (UNK) def. Federica Salmaso (MWSU) 7-5, 6-4
Claire Neil (UNK) def. Erica Dunn (MWSU) 6-1, 6-0
Bojana Vuksan (MWSU) def. Pranathi Gannavaram (UNK) 6-4, 4-6, 11-9

DOUBLES
Polunova/Turarbek (UNK) def. Ström/Abreu Roman (MWSU) 6-4
Sun/Ibrahimova (UNK) def. Birosta/Dunn (MWSU) 6-4
Neil/Parnell (UNK) def. Vuksan/Salmaso (MWSU) 6-0

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western director of athletics Josh Looney announced MWSU director of sports performance Greg Carbin has accepted a position as a strength and conditioning assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“We are thrilled for Greg and the opportunities that await him,” Looney said. “Having an NFL team actively seek out our director of sports performance is impressive and only affirms all of the positive contributions Greg has made at MWSU. He is a difference maker. We can’t thank Greg enough for all his impressive contributions to his alma mater.”

Carbin became the first-ever full-time strength and conditioning coach at Missouri Western in 2014 after serving one year as a graduate assistant. The 2006 All-MIAA defensive back for the Griffons built the sports performance program at MWSU that now includes a staff of three graduate assistants. Carbin was also instrumental in helping Missouri Western become the first NCAA Division II athletic department in the nation to install and utilize KONGiQ strength and conditioning software.

“I would like to thank Missouri Western President Dr. Robert Vartabedian and former athletic director Kurt McGuffin for giving me the opportunity to be Missouri Western’s first strength and conditioning coach and for the privilege to develop the Sports Performance program from the ground up,” Carbin said. “I also want to thank Josh Looney, the athletic administration and the head coaches who entrusted my staff and me with all 16 of Missouri Western’s teams. Thank you to the student-athletes who allowed me to serve them as a role model and be a part of their personal and athletic development.”

“I leave Missouri Western with a grateful heart through the experiences and friendships I have gained and look forward to this new position that brings forth new challenges. I wish the University, coaches and athletes success in all future endeavors and look forward to many more Ring the Bell moments to come. God Bless and Go Griffs.”

A national search for Carbin’s replacement will begin immediately.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Game two of a three-game series between Missouri Western (16-15, 13-10) and Northwest Missouri (17-18, 13-10) looked like rivalry baseball. The Griffons rallied twice with an eight-run fourth and a four-run seventh to clinch the series with a 13-10 victory.

The rivals combined for 23 runs, 21 hits, five errors and used 11 total pitchers. It gave Missouri Western 29 runs in the first two games of the series along with seven home runs so far in the series with three on Saturday.

The win pushed the Griffs into a three-way tie for fifth place in the MIAA standings with Northwest and Lindenwood, just a half game back of Central Oklahoma for fourth.

NOTABLES

• Early, it looked like Northwest was headed to as series-tying victory after scoring five runs and chasing Jacob Purl from the game after three innings
• MWSU responded with a five-hit, eight-run fourth inning capped by back-to-back home run by Andrew Curry and Brooks Day
• Curry’s shot gave MWSU an 8-6 lead before Day put the Griffs up by three
• Northwest chipped away and regained the lead on a two-run home run in the top of the seventh
• Fahd Shakeel, aided by a throwing error, scored on his own RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh to give MWSU an 11-10 lead
• An RBI-single by Josh Robinson and an RBI fielder’s choice by Casey Danley put MWSU up 13-10
• Carson Dwyre slammed the door, retiring all eight batters he faced, four on strikeouts, to earn his second win of the season
• Curry was 3-for-5 with three RBIs
• Danley drove in three and Fahd Shakeel and Robinson had two hits apiece

UP NEXT

• MWSU goes for its first series sweep since taking all three of its MIAA opening series with Fort Hays State in late February at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

— MWSU Athletics —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Missouri Western softball team (30-14, 17-5) stretched its win streak to 12 games with an offensive onslaught Saturday at Pittsburg State (21-24, 9-11).

The Griffons scored 12 unanswered runs over the final two innings of a game one 13-3 run-rule victory. In game two, the Griffs added nine more hits and two more doubles in a 7-2 win.

Missouri Western’s current win streak that includes six consecutive MIAA doubleheader sweeps is the longest since the 2015 team won 16 in a row.

GAME 1
Missouri Western 13, Pittsburg State 3 (6 innings)

• Down 3-1 after four innings, MWSU scored seven in the fifth and five more in the sixth to win by run-rule
• The seven-run fifth featured six Griffon hits, two for Morgan Frost
• MWSU added to its MIAA-leading home run total with a first inning solo shot by Gabi Carter and a three-run shot by Emma Hoffart that got the scoring started in the fifth, the 33^rd and 34^th home runs of the season for the team
• Six Griffs had at least two hits, including three by Frost and Carter
• Sydni Hawkins’ two-hit game pushed her hitting streak to 14 games
• Kaili Hinds held Pitt State to three hits and picked up her 14^th win of the season

GAME 2
Missouri Western 7, Pittsburg State 2

• The Griffons had nine hits and took advantage of Pitt State miscues
• MWSU scored two in the first, one on a passed ball and another on an error
• Frost made it 4-0 Griffs with a two-run double in the second
• Taylor Hoelscher drove in two with a single in the third
• An Pittsburg State error in the fourth allowed Brea Blanton to score MWSU’s seventh run
• Frost had two more hits and drove in two. Another double gave her 19 on the season, second most in the MIAA
• Blanton was 2-for-3 with three runs scored
• Hawkins made it 14 straight games with a base hit, going 1-for-3
• Kenzie Hilzer went the distance and improved to 6-7 on the year, her fourth-straight appearance with either a win or save

UP NEXT

• The Griffons get next week off before hosting two MIAA series to end the regular season
• Washburn and Emporia State visit the Spring Sports Complex on April 26^th and 27^th, respectively.

— MWSU Athletics —

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Missouri Western Men’s and Women’s Track and Field totaled four individual wins at the 11^th Annual David Suenram Gorilla Classic on Saturday. The Griffons went toe-to-toe with some of the best competition in the country.

On the men’s side Grand Valley (5), Pittsburg State (11), Missouri Southern (12), and Central Missouri (18) are all ranked in the top-20 in NCAA Div. II. Several powerhouse women’s teams were also competing in Pittsburg, including Grand Valley (1), Missouri Southern (3), and Pittsburg State (7).

Nevertheless, the Griffons still came away with four event winners and several other top-five finishes. Hanna Williams, Megan Gillen, and Riley Gorham all claimed victories in track events for Missouri Western. Julia Odir also posted a win for the Griffons with her jump of 11.65m.

Williams and Jordan Garr both earned provisional marks on Saturday. Garr’s throw of 16.96m in the shot put also gave him a third-place finish.

TOP FINISHERS

• Hanna Williams, 1^st, Women’s 400m, 55.54 (Provisional)
• Megan Gillen, 1^st, Women’s 800m, 2:20.29
• Riley Gorham, 1^st, Men’s 1500m, 4:01.74
• Julia Odir, 1^st, Women’s Triple Jump, 11.65m
• Jordan Garr, 3^rd, Men’s Shot Put, 16.96m (Provisional)
• Jacob Oyler, 3^rd, Men’s 5000m, 16:08.20
• Claire Reedy, Paige Kvale, Megan Gillen, Grace Schottel, 3^rd, Women’s 4x400m, 4:06.77
• Claire Reedy, 4^th, Women’s 1500m, 5:00.57
• Savannah Simmons, 5^th, Women’s 200m, 25.33
• Hunter Scaggs, 5^th, Men’s High Jump, 2.02m

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will compete at the Kansas Relays beginning on April 17.

— MWSU Athletics —