Taylor Pendrith

Mid-American Conference Championship May 4-6 up next for Golden Flashes

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 18 Kent State made its final preparations for the upcoming Mid-American Conference Championship May 4-6 by taking third place in the Boilermaker Invitational this weekend.  Led by a fifth place finish from sophomore Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ontario), the Golden Flashes finished the event at 16-over (880) and three shots back of Indiana (877) and one back of Iowa (879).  

"At the start of the day only three shots separated the top four teams and it remained tight throughout the round," said Director of Golf/Head Coach Herb Page.  "Our guys really gutted it out, but in the end sometimes you just get beat.  You have to give Indiana credit.  They shot an impressive final round and deserved to win."

The Golden Flashes had five players finish in the top 26 of the individual standing and stayed in contention for their third straight title throughout the day until the final few holes.  Eight back at the start of the day, No. 37 Indiana eventually took the team title posting a final round 282 to overcome 36-hole leaders Kent State and No. 26 Iowa, which posted final round scores of 293 and 292 respectively.  

"Overall we had a pretty good showing, but there are still a few little things we need to get better at and tighten up before heading to the MAC Championship in a couple of weeks," said Page.

Pendrith completed his 54-hole score of 217 (75-72-70) with a team best 70 (-2) on Sunday.  After tying for fifth this weekend he now has five top 10s in 11 events on the year.  Sophomore Corey Conners (Listowel, Ontario) added another solid performance tying for 11th with a 219 (77-70-72).  

Senior Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ontario) tied for 21st with his 224 (71-76-77) while sophomore Kyle Kmiecik (Avon, Ohio) was one shot back in a tied for 23rd with a 225 (75-74-76).  Junior Kevin Miller (Dover, Ohio) added a 226 (78-73-75) to tie for 26th.  

The 2012 MAC Championship is hosted by Northern Illinois at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.  The Golden Flashes have won the conference title each of the last three seasons.  

Follow the team on Twitter @KentStGolf.

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