Coming off two straight years of making the NCAA Championships, the Iowa State men’s golf team comes into its 2018-19 season wanting to take advantage of every opportunity given to them which starts with a trip to the Badger Invitational.

The Badger Invitational will begin Sept. 9 and run through Sept. 11 at University Ridge Golf Course in Verona, Wisconsin. The tournament will go three rounds (54 holes) on the par-72 course. Eleven teams will compete against the Cyclones this weekend, all hoping to start their respective seasons off with positive performances. Some of the toughest opponents include Texas A&M, Kansas, Notre Dame, Marquette and the host school, Wisconsin.

“We are going out there with a better sense of urgency this year and we are all teaching them to not play with a ‘see how it goes mentality,’” said coach Andrew Tank. “I am excited for the opportunity the team will have.”

Iowa State finished tied for sixth in the Badger Invitational last season and junior Tripp Kinney wants to make sure the team starts the season off playing its best golf.

“I just want to get off to a good start this weekend, that’s been our focus the past few years and we haven’t exactly done that,” Kinney said. “It’ll be fun to get back on that golf course and compete against top level competition with the guys.”

Iowa State goes into the 2018-19 season with a roster of two juniors (Sam Vincent and Kinney), four sophomores (Frank Lindwall, Danny Daniels, Ricky Costello and Lachlan Barker) and two freshmen (Bryce Hammer and Jackson Kalz). Two seniors graduated from the team last year, so the Cyclones will head up to Wisconsin with no seniors on the roster, something Tank sees as an opportunity for himself and his players.

“We do have a younger team, which is exciting for me as a coach, but for me, I would love to have eight leaders on this team,” Tank said. “It’s a great opportunity for Tripp and Sam as juniors to take on that role this season. I learned so much from the group of guys last year, so this year it will be good for me to build a similar culture with the group we have now.”

Tank also brought up his group of sophomores on the team, who he believes have stepped up as vocal leaders with a year of experience under their belts. He praised the fact his younger players are becoming more engaged with the rest of the team.

“I think it will be different obviously because last year we had Denzel (Ieremia) and Jorge (Utrilla) who we all looked up to and it will be interesting because everyone has equal voice on this team, no one is above anyone else,” Barker said. “It’s exciting also because we are going to have this same team unit for two whole years which means we can build strong relationships and learn from each other.”

Last season, Iowa State had a lot to be proud of in terms of team and individual successes. The team made its third trip to the NCAA Championships in five years and earned a second-straight top-20 finish by tying for 19th place in last year’s NCAA Championships. When it came to individual accomplishments, Kinney won the Iowa Amateur title last season and became the first Iowa State golfer to win the event since 2009.

“As a team, we all have a goal of making it back to the NCAA Championship, playing on that final day and having a shot to win it all. I hope we all continue to learn what we need to work on from each tournament,” Kinney said. “If we can do that, the outcome will take care of itself.”