The Iowa State men’s golf team finished day two of Big 12 Match Play with a loss to Texas, going into day three with a 0-3 record. 

The Cyclones wrapped up their day one matchup today against Texas Tech, which was delayed due to darkness last night. The Red Raiders got the best of the Cyclones in all but one matchup, in which freshman Paul Beauvy tied with junior Baard Skogen. This gave Iowa State half a point in match points and put them in fourth place in their pool of five teams.

In their second matchup of the tournament, Iowa State faced TCU, who tied with Texas in their first matchup. Sophomore Hunter Johnson made his debut this season, replacing redshirt sophomore Jake Slocum in this matchup. Johnson and three other Cyclones lost their matchups in the round. 

Beauvy won his matchup in round two, and fellow freshman Kyo Morishita would tie with junior Brandon Massey. These matchups would earn the Cyclones one and a half points this round, bringing them to two points total in terms of match points. 

Iowa State played fourth-seeded Texas for the final matchup of the day, keeping the same lineup from their previous matchup. This was their best matchup so far as Beauvy, junior Lukas Pany and redshirt senior Nate Vance tied their matchups, and Morishita won his matchup against senior Mason Nome. 

The Cyclones finished day two with four and a half total match points, the second lowest among all other teams. While the road hasn’t been easy so far, Iowa State has one match left to improve and leave it all out on the course. Here are the takeaways from day two.

Gutschewski struggles 

The last time sophomore Luke Gutschewski competed and placed first at the Marquette Intercollegiate helped the Cyclones finish fourth as a team. So far, all of his matchups have gotten the best of him. 

Gutschewski participated in Big 12 Match Play last season, where he got off to a 1-1-1 start through his first three matchups. He finished 2-2-1 at the end of the tournament. He’ll look to finish his first half of the season strong in tomorrow’s final match. 

Notable statistics

While the Cyclones as a whole haven’t had a solid outing in their first three matchups, they have had some individuals put up some impressive statistics. Beauvy sticks out, as he sits fifth in the average score on par threes, averaging 2.87. He’s also third in the average score on par fours, averaging 3.96. 

Nothing to lose on day three

With their backs against the wall at the end of day two, the Cyclones have nothing to lose heading into their final matchup on day three. While they’ve had some decent solo performances in each matchup so far, they haven’t put themselves in a good position with their team points. Tomorrow is a chance for the Cyclones to end their fall part of the season on a good note. 

Big 12 Match Play will wrap up pool play tomorrow, with each team having one more matchup. Then conclude with the championship round, which will be played by each team with the highest points from their respective pools.