The Iowa State men’s golf team teed a tie for first place this weekend at the D. A. Weibring Invitational hosted by Illinois State University.

The Cyclones shared tournament honors with the University of Northern Iowa. Drake soloed third place only five strokes behind the Cyclones’ and Panthers’ winning score.

For the fifth consecutive tournament, transfer Matt Lewis led the Cyclone team.

Lewis tied for second place overall with Drake’s Ben Pettitt, registering a three-round total of 217. Lewis finished two strokes away from medalist honors, which were claimed by UNI’s Nate Lubs.

Jon Levy, who tied for sixth place, said the team was disappointed to share the win with UNI.

He said since the field was not as strong as other tournaments the team has played, the team expected to win the tournament outright.

“The last nine holes we could have played a little better and we could have won,” Levy said.

However, he said the team was fortunate to garner a first-place tie, considering not everyone played his best golf.

The Cyclones ranked fourth after the first day of the tournament, which was played under ideal conditions. But the team dominated the blustery conditions on the second day, finishing with the lowest round of the tournament to earn a tie for the title.

Levy said the team looks forward to bad weather “because it brings a lot of schools out of the game.”

He said it is an advantage to ISU because the players are used to competing in a variety of conditions.

Jon Brackmann, the team’s fourth finisher, said the wind was constantly blowing at 35 mph and gusts reached up to 50 mph.

In what Brackmann described as “unbelievable” gusty conditions, the Cyclones remained mentally tough and made few errors en route to shooting the lowest score of day two.

“A lot of teams just couldn’t take it,” Brackmann said. “Our mental game was stronger because it had to be in the conditions that we faced.”

Brackmann, who finished the first round in 50th place, blew away his closest competitors on day two, catapulting him into 26th place overall.

He said Coach Jamie Bermel remained very positive during the second day of the tournament and made sure the team “kept on grinding” despite the disagreeable weather.

After five weeks on the road, he said the players continue to bond each time they travel with each other.

Brackmann said the players are pleased with the “young energy, discipline and enthusiasm” Bermel has brought to the Cyclone team.