Red Wolves - IU East

The Indiana University East men's golf team competes in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet April 23 at Battleground Golf Course in Richmond, Ky.

The teams will play 36 holes to determine the KIAC champion.

IU East seeks its second KIAC title. The Red Wolves won the KIAC meet in 2008, claiming the school's first NAIA conference championship in any sport.

The Red Wolves also seek the program's second KIAC medalist. Then-IU East sophomore Mark Bevins was KIAC medalist in 2008.

LAST TIME OUT

IU East finished second at the Cincinnati Christian University Invitational on April 15-16.

Red Wolves junior Nick Ary (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville High School) finished second with a 157.

IU East freshman Zack Palmer (Richmond, Ind./Richmond High School) was seventh with a 36-hole season best of 171.

IU East was second in the 2009 KIAC meet. Ary earned all-KIAC honors.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

Brescia University won the KIAC tournament last season and is the favorite to repeat.

Brescia finished first in three tournaments involving all four KIAC programs this spring.

IU East finished second in two of those events and third in the other. Brescia finished at least 12 strokes ahead of IU East in every 18-hole round.

Berea College and Cincinnati Christian University round out the four-team field.

Brescia's Garrett Veal and Matt Galloway likely will duke it out with IU East's Ary for medalist honors.

IU East coach Von Ebeling also expects CCU's Kyle Pollock to contend for top honors.

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

IU East coach Von Ebeling breaks down the blueprint the Red Wolves must follow to win the KIAC tournament:

"To beat Brescia Universiy along with the others and win the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Golf Tournament, the following scenario must play out:

"Nick Ary will have to beat Brescia No. 1 Garrett Veal for the second time this season. Nick beat Garrett at Battlefield Golf Course during the Berea Spring Tee Off. Nick will have to beat him by three to four strokes to make a gain for our team at the top of the line up.

"Mark Bevins (Hollansburg, Ohio/Tri-Village High School), a senior, has placed first in the KIAC tournament in the past. He must challenge Brescia No. 1 Matt Galloway and get his score down into the high 70s while Galloway must slip into the 80s.

"Our No. 3 golfer, Zack Palmer, has steadily shot 40 and 41 for nine holes. Zack will have to put two complete rounds together, shooting no higher than 85 for 18 holes.

"Our No. 4 golfer, Derrick McNeely (Connersville, Ind./Connersville High School), has to absolutely stay out of the 90s. He has the monumental task of shooting better than Brescia's Stephen Kraft, Dan Vessel and Dan Janick. All three of these golfers have shot better than Derrick this season.

"Our team will have to shoot close to 650 to have a chance of winning. If our players enter this tournament with focused minds and endure the physical nature of this course for 36 holes, there is an honest reality that we will return home to Richmond as Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Golf Tournament Champions."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ebeling said freshman Brandon Loomis (Union City, Ind./Union City Community High School) can give the Red Wolves a big boost with a strong performance this weekend.

"Brandon Loomis had his best score (87) at Battlefield Golf Course," Ebeling said. "Since the KIAC tournament, being held there, is a 36-hole event, Brandon will have to top his best score twice to either have a strong finish as our fourth-best score or a strong fifth in case of a tiebreaker."

FOLLOW THE TOURNAMENT

Get results from the KIAC Tournament at www.iueredwolves.com.