BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's golf program continued play at the GLIAC Championships on Saturday, finishing round two in fourth place to qualify for the semifinal match play round.
SVSU followed up their opening-round 288 (E) with a 290 (+2) to finish with a total of 578 (+2), tying Wayne State for third place. Shea Harmeson led the way with a 66 (-6), following up his 70 (-2) for a two-day total of 136 (-8). Harmeson jumped eight spots on day two to finish first out of 52 golfers.
Jiseung Choi moved up two spots after carding a 73 (+1) to go with his opening-round 72 (E), totaling 145 (+1) to finish 10th. Thomas Keyte shot 73 (+1) in round one and followed it with a 75 (+3) to finish at 148 (+4). Evan Klein rounded out the team scoring, posting rounds of 73 (+1) and 76 (+4) for a total of 149 (+5). Dominic DeLaura played the first round and was subbed out for Joey Per, who shot a 76 (+4) in round two.
Wayne State won the tiebreaker to claim the No. 3 seed heading into the semifinals, while the Cardinals took the No. 4 seed to face Ferris State. Ferris State jumped four spots on Saturday, shooting eight under as a team. However, SVSU upset the Bulldogs in the five-player match play round, winning three of the five matchups and tying another.
Choi had the standout round, shooting a 70 (-2) to finish six strokes ahead of Ferris State's Kole Putnam, winning seven holes and tying eight. Harmeson shot a 72 (E) against McCoy Biagioli, edging out the matchup by one stroke. Harmeson birdied two of the final three holes to rally from two strokes down.
Per also secured a win, never trailing in his match, shooting a 74 (+2) against Drayton Cleaver's 77 (+5). Per took the lead on the first hole, briefly tied after the third when Cleaver birdied, but reclaimed a two-stroke advantage on the fourth and held it for the remainder of the round.
Keyte tied his matchup, with both he and Sam Havey shooting 78 (+6). Keyte erased a two-shot deficit over the final three holes, making back-to-back pars while Havey bogeyed the last two.
Klein dropped SVSU's only match, shooting a 75 (+3). Despite having the Cardinals' fourth-best round, he faced Ferris State's Zach Koerner, who shot a team-best 70 (-2) in the semifinals.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley men's golf advances to the GLIAC Championship final round on Sunday, April 20. The Cardinals will face Wayne State, who defeated Grand Valley in the semifinals. The first tee time is set for 10:00 AM EDT at Bedford Valley Golf Course, with subsequent groups teeing off every nine minutes.