I decided to spend my weekend camping in Wisconsin, so you can trust me when I tell you it was COLD out there. We've had the fall thing going on in the Midwest for a few weeks now with the brisk mornings and chilly evenings, but this past weekend was the first time we seemed to reach the level of constant cold. Apparently, the fall air was precisely what the Iowa men's golf team needed because they put together their best performance of the year, coming away with an event and individual title. And they weren't the only outdoor team that seemed to relish the turn in the weather.
Let's take a look.
This Week's Spotlight: Iowa Men's Golf
Mac McClear led the way for the Hawks last weekend as the team took home the individual and team titles in the Iowa Fall Classic. McClear, a former Big Ten Champion, finished -2 to claim the event title on the back of 12 birdies. The rest of the team wasn't far behind. Ronan Kleu and Garrett Tighe both finished tied for 4th at +4, as did Callum Macfie, who competed as an individual at the event.
The Hawks came on late to pull away and take the title. Tighe's 4-under third round saw him climb 12 spots in the standings and pulled the Hawks within one stroke of Valpo heading into the final round. Tighe followed up his big third round with a smattering of birdies and an eagle, helping Iowa ultimately win the event by six strokes.
Iowa men's golf has quietly found success on the back of a highly productive senior class. McClear is a former Big Ten Champion who has now finished in the top five in back-to-back weeks, while Tighe and Kleu have put together productive careers in their own right and are capable of big low rounds like we saw from Tighe last week. Asking a midwestern school to compete on a national level in a sport like golf may never be realistic, but this group has shown the ability to hold its own in the region.
Golf can be a momentum sport and the past few weeks have shown the Hawkeyes starting to heat up. It's the perfect time of year too, as the Hawks approach the end of their season. Their last scheduled event tees off on October 21st in Wilmington, North Carolina with the Williams Cup.
Honorable Mention: Hawkeye Soccer
Just like the golf team, Iowa soccer decided the cooler weather meant they had to supply their own heat and turned that into their best week of the season. They kicked off the weekend on Thursday with a 2-2 draw against Purdue. A draw is obviously not the ideal outcome, but Iowa showed excellent resiliency, battling back from a 2-0 hole in the first half to find the equalizer in the 55th minute. Just as encouraging was the fact that the Hawks held firm to earn the draw. Often this season, the Hawks have found themselves losing leads, and after expending so much energy to battle back from a multi-goal deficit, it wouldn't have been unexpected to see the same result. Chalk that up to a win for Coach Dianni and for the Hawks' culture as a whole.
The Hawkeyes weren't satisfied with a draw in their second game of the week, bashing Nebraska on Senior Day for a 4-0 win. It was a complete effort for the Hawks, scoring twice in each half and holding the Huskers to only seven shots.
Ended Senior Day with a win. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/P9OzvZHxj0
— Hawkeye Soccer (@HawkeyeSoccer) October 17, 2022
I'm sure I sound like a broken record at this point, but we know this team can make a late run because we saw it just a few years ago, with most of those players still on campus. They've been close all season and the last three halves show a team that looks to be putting it all together. I'm always hesitant to make sweeping claims off of a small sample, but the team looks like one primed to make some postseason noise.
Hawkeye Whiparound
- It was a tough weekend for Hawkeye field hockey, as they suffered a pair of 2-0 losses to #21 Ohio State and #10 Michigan. These Hawkeyes have faced an absolute gauntlet of a schedule and it isn't the craziest thing in the world to see the legs start to get heavy as the season wears on. Coach Cellucci is too good of a coach and the players on the team are too talented to see their season derail, but they'll need to come together quickly as they prep for the postseason. The team will play next on Sunday in a rematch against Michigan.
- Iowa volleyball nearly pulled off another upset last week, falling in five sets to #14 Penn State. The Hawks were also only a point away from taking a set off of #5 Wisconsin before ultimately falling three sets to none. I'm going to keep beating this drum because this team continues to show everything you want to see from an up-and-coming group. They're not backing down from the best teams in the country and continue to show they're more than a cupcake on the schedule. There are still bouts of inconsistency and they haven't found a way to get over the finish line for that signature win, but this team is close, which is far more than we've been able to say about Iowa volleyball in a long, long time.
- The Hawkeye cross country teams both finished 17th last weekend at the Weis-Crockett Invite. 19 of the 26 teams were ranked on both sides in a rehearsal of the NCAA Championship course. Nick Trattner was the fastest men's runner, finishing 39th, while Emma Gordon paced the women's team, finishing 33rd.
- Iowa women's golf is currently competing in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational. Their latest round was suspended and will pick up later this week.
