“Anytime you play all the Division I schools in Iowa that’s key, especially for bragging rights.”

This was coach Jamie Bermel’s comment on the importance of the Big 4 Championship which was held in Des Moines last Tuesday.

The Big 4 matches the Cyclones along with intrastate rivals Iowa, Northern Iowa and Drake in a 36-hole tournament to determine Iowa’s champion.

But after a slow start in round one, the Iowa State squad found itself 17 strokes out of first place. Furthermore, the team was 10 strokes out of third.

“Round one was a disaster,” team leader Jon Levy said.

Despite this setback, the Cyclones forcefully mounted a comeback. They rallied to finish the tourney in third place, only six strokes behind first-place UNI.

“We showed a lot of character coming back in round two,” Levy said.

Bermel added, “It is hard to make up that many strokes, [but] it is certainly a tribute to these guys.”

A stiff north wind made play difficult for the Cyclone squad. The rain Monday night did help soften the greens; however, Levy said, “It was really windy, so that equaled it out.”

These conditions made the already difficult par-71 course “play like a par-73,” Bermel said.

Bermel added, “The weather affected them a little.” He went on to say summer golf scores are generally lower because golfing conditions are better, especially in comparison to Tuesday’s fall-like weather.

The ISU golfers skillfully completed with the front nine, but “we struggled on the back like a lot of teams,” Bermel said.

The back nine featured a long par-3 on the 14th, 17th and 18th holes. The last two are traditionally known to be challenging cups.

Individually, Matt Lewis, a transfer from Minnesota, led the Cyclones with a score of 150, followed by Aaron Patton’s 152.

Matt Lowe of UNI took the medal with a score of 140, nine better than the nearest competitor.

The team scores indicated that the competition was very evenly matched.

UNI’s 604 was a single stroke better than Drake, and the University of Iowa finished in a distant fourth with a score of 620.

The Cyclones head to Laramie, Wyo., for the team’s next meet. The University of Wyoming Cowboys will host the Sept. 8 and 9 tourney.

Levy said playing Wyoming should be a new and valuable experience for the Cyclone club. He said these “are not normally teams that we play.”

Arkansas-Little Rock and Drake will be some of the teams that will be featured in the upcoming meet.

Bermel said, “I like our chances. The second round is an indication of how well we could play.”

Levy added, “We have a good shot to win.”