Cold weather throughout the tournament and a snow storm on the final day contributed to high rounds and a low finish for the Cyclone men at the Ram Intercollegiate over the weekend.

The golfers had been playing very well in previous tournaments, but struggled this past week in Fort Collins, Colo.

“I am disappointed,” head coach Jay Horton said.

“We did not play very well in both rounds.”

The Cyclones shot a two-round total of 607 on the first day before snow canceled play on Tuesday morning.

“We dug ourselves a hole,” Horton said, “but unlike last week, we didn’t get a chance to pull ourselves out.”

There were many reasons the team did not play well, but Horton said the cold weather was not one of them.

“If you look at results,” Horton said, “Hawaii finished ahead of us, so the cold wasn’t a factor.”

Some of the reasons for the inconsistent play might still be youth and inexperience, as the Cyclone team consists of mostly freshmen in the lineup.

Coach Horton thought one of the problems might have been the players were trying to play well in front of their former coach and current Colorado State coach Jamie Bermel.

“They were excited and wanted to show Jim what they cold do,” Horton said.

Also, the tough, unique playing condition in the mountains of Colorado can be hard to get used to.

“Playing in Colorado is a little different. The land is elevated, and the altitude, as always, comes into play,” Horton said. “It requires a good short game and more thinking.”

Aaron Patton played well again, leading the Cyclone men. He shot a two-round total of 144 to finish in a tie for 15th place.

With his steady play and maturity, he continues to fire low rounds. Being the oldest member on the team, he feels the need to lead by example, and that’s exactly what he is doing.

Matt Gatchel and Mark Weghorst battled the cold to finish up with rounds of 153 and 155, respectively.

Co-winners of the medalist honors were Colorado’s Tibias Forsgren and Texas-Arlington’s Thomas Pye, who both shot a 138 in the tournament. A pack of four golfers followed the leaders with a score of 141.

In team competition, Colorado won by ten strokes over in-state rival Colorado State. Texas-Arlington finished up strong to beat out Michigan State for third place.

Next up for the Cyclones is the Big Four tournament next week. This is a battle between the four Division I programs in the state of Iowa.

Despite the bad play this past week, the Cyclones should still be the favorites.

They’ve beaten Drake and Northern Iowa twice already, and they defeated the Hawkeyes by six strokes in their own tournament earlier in the year.