With tough competition and rough terrain, UIS men’s golf took 10th place during the Frito Lay/Taco Bell intercollegiate golf tournament on Feb. 18 in Philadelphia, Miss.

The first day of the tournament, Feb. 17, UIS posted scores of 324/324 which put them 8th place position for the day.

Senior Sam Norbom said, “We were eager for the Frito Lay Taco Bell tournament but due to the winter, the golf course was still in rough condition, which did not help us when it came to competing against the colleges in the tournament.”

The majority of the golf teams in the tournament were Division I colleges. “It was a good competition,” Norbom said.  “This helped our team better our skills and prepared us for more challenging competitors.”

Although an upsetting tournament, UIS golf is in a good position for the Regional tournament.

Norbom said, “Overall we have four regional tournaments, two in the fall and two in the spring. To make it to the superregionals as a team we must average in the top ten teams. During the fall we placed 13th in the first regional tournament and 8th in the second regional tournament.”

Men’s golf is coached by Frank Marsaglia, and since he arrived at UIS he has helped improve the golf program immensely. UIS golf is hoping to attend the nationals this year.

Although the golf team was not fully prepared for the tournament, the experience helped the team prepare for future competitions.

“Although it is the start of the season, something we can better is our putting,” Norbom said.  “It did not help, either that the ground was still in rough condition.”

The Las Vegas Desert Classic, on March 3, is the next appearance that UIS golf will make. The golf team hopes to improve their record and is eager to battle against their rivals.

Norbom said “The Las Vegas Desert Classic will be fun and exciting because we will be playing against our conference rivals and it will definitely be a change of terrain because we will be playing golf in the desert.”