What started as a glimmering hope for the ISU men’s golf team vanished like a desert mirage as chances for team and individual titles disappeared in Arizona.

After Iowa State, ranked No. 43/44 by Golfweek/Golfstat began the final round in second place and within two shots of eventual champion No. 29/25 Arizona State, the Cyclones posted an eight-over-par total of 292, plummeting to a tie for fourth place at the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Ariz.

Though Iowa State was unable to close the tournament in a convincing manner, the performance on day one, particularly a six-under-par second round, left ISU coach Andrew Tank with some optimism.

“I was pleased overall. We were in a good position after two rounds,” Tank said. “We just didn’t play that well today, but overall a lot of positives to take from the week for sure.”

Despite the performance that saw flashes of the team’s potential, Tank also expects more out of a team that returns its top six golfers from an NCAA Championship squad last season.

“My expectations were pretty high because of how we approached the offseason and what guys did over break,” Tank said of his team, which combined for three top-30 finishes in international events during Winter Break. “I was expecting we’d do pretty well, but we certainly know there’s more time to improve and there are more important tournaments at the end of the season than right now.”

On the individual side, senior Scott Fernandez and sophomore Nick Voke, two Cyclones who earned medalist honors during the fall season, were also in contention.

Like their team prospects, however, their individual chances fell by the wayside as Arizona State’s Max Rotluff cruised to a four-shot victory, while finishing several shots ahead of the nearest Cyclone.

“Personally, I’m happy with how I played with it being the second tournament for me [after tying for fourth at the Copa Andalucía in Spain in January],” Fernandez said. “I was just building from the last round in Spain. I just had a couple shots off tempo that really threw me off, but overall, I hit good shots.”

Fernandez has made a living in the collegiate game on the par-5s, using his length off the tee to the advantage. This week, his success followed a familiar blueprint as he he tied for third out of 88 golfers in par-5 scoring with a 4.56 average.

While Fernandez was able to post a one-over-par 72 in the final round to stay inside the top 10 and tie for sixth place, his teammate, Voke, could not do the same.

The sophomore from Auckland, New Zealand, began the final round at three-under-par, one behind Fernandez and four off the pace, but was derailed by a double-bogie on the par-5 10th hole — his sixth hole of the day — which led to a closing 75 to tie for 18th place.

With three weeks off before the Cyclones compete again at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, Calif., Tank said that the break comes at a good time as the team prepares for three tournaments in a row beginning Feb. 20.

“I think it’s coming at a good time because of the golf the guys played over break. And we had a good week of practice, a trip to [Tempe, Ariz. during the previous week] and this tournament,” Tank said. “So I think it’s coming at a good time to have a break to regroup and work on some things and build our games back up.”