By: Alec Runyan
Ball State Sports Link
Kash Bellar – Men’s Golf
Ball State hosted the Earl Yestingsmeir Invite over the weekend at the Delaware Country Club, finishing in seventh place out of 13 competing schools.
Freshman Kash Bellar set the school record for a single round when he shot a 62 (-8) during the morning round on Friday. He also tied the tournament and course record with Wright State golfer Cole Corder, who shot a 62 Friday morning as well.
Bellar finished Friday in third place with a score of 134 (-6) through the first two rounds.
In his first collegiate tournament, Bellar tallied 13 birdies and one eagle through the 54-hole event, tying for fourth place with a final score of 207 (-3).
Bellar was competing as an individual so his score did not count for the final team score. The Cardinals return to competition Monday October, 5 as they head west to Denver for another two-day tournament.
Megan Wielonski – Women’s Volleyball
The Ball State women’s volleyball team made its long awaited home debut against Northern Kentucky in a double header over the weekend.
The Cardinals were able to sweep Northern Kentucky thanks to a balanced offensive attack both nights led by freshman setter Megan Wielonski.
Jaclyn Bulmahn, Lauren Gilliland, Natalie Mitchem, and Marie Plitt all finished with 20 or more kills on the weekend.
During Ball State’s 3-0 Friday night, Wielonski finished with 42 assists and an impressive attack percentage (.299).
In a much closer match on Saturday that ended in a 3-2 Cardinals’ victory, Wielonski notched her sixth double-double of the season tallying 48 assists and 18 digs.
Ball State (10-2) prepares for MAC play as they head to Kent State for a double header Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.).
Eli Herran – Men’s Tennis
Men’s tennis is underway as Ball State traveled to West Lafayette for the Purdue Invite over the weekend and coming away with a lot of positives.
The Cardinals finished doubles play going 9-2 and 13-8 in singles play, while competing against DePaul, IUPUI, and host Purdue.
Junior Eli Herran went undefeated (3-0) in doubles play alongside Thibault de Negri for two matches and Peter Petrovic in his final doubles match against IUPUI Friday.
Herran would go on to win two of his three singles matches, dropping his only match of the weekend to Matteo Iaquinto from DePaul in three sets (6-2, 6-7, 4-6).
As the lone winner for Ball State on Sunday against Purude, Herran battled back after dropping the first set but would go on to win the next two 7-5, 6-3 to cap off the weekend.
The Cardinals will look to keep their momentum going as they head to the University of Tennessee this Thursday for the ITA Ohio Valley Regional.
Liz Kim – Women’s Golf
Graduate senior Liz Kim finished in fourth place at the Ball State Cardinal Classic hosted by The Player’s Club in Yorktown.
“It was nice to have an opportunity to host for the first time in two years,” Ball State head coach Katherine Mowant says. “There were certainly a lot of positives to take away from the tournament. We had some individual highlights that we will celebrate. We will get back to work in the next week and a half before our next tournament and figure out what we need to work on to be a better team. I’m proud of our fight, they never quit out there. We put in a lot of really hard work with the adversity that our team has faced so far this season. I know the best is yet to come for the squad.”
Behind seven birdies Kim posted a final score of 223 (+7) just three stroke shy of first place.
In her final season, Kim is off to the best start of her career finishing in the top 25 of both tournaments so far and an early top five finish in a 16-team field.
Kim and the Cardinals stay in state for the next tournament as they head to Bloomington for the Indiana Fall Invitational at Pfau Course on Monday October, 4 and Tuesday October, 5.
Lexi Kanksy – Field Hockey
Ball State field hockey opened up MAC competition with a 2-1 victory of Central Michigan at the Briner Sports Complex last Friday.
After a defensive battle through the first 30 minutes, Lexi Kansky got things going in the right direction for the Cardinal’s offense scoring her first career goal in the 31st minute and giving Ball State the late lead.
Minutes later Michaela Graney scored off a penalty shot to give Ball State the two-goal cushion that they would end up needing to go on and win its first conference match of the season.
The Cardinals have a busy weekend ahead as they head Athens Friday to take on MAC opponent Ohio, followed by a home match against instate rival Indiana on Sunday, September 26 at 1 p.m. presented by Ball State Sports Link.
