Aces Take 9^th Place In The Team Standings

 OLD HICKORY, Tenn. – With weather once again being a factor, the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate became final after two of the three scheduled rounds at Hermitage Golf Club Presidents Reserve.

Carson Parker was the top finisher for the University of Evansville men’s golf team, earning a tie for the 21^stposition.  Following his opening-round score of 77, Parker shot a 1-over 72 in the second round, which was spread between Monday and Tuesday due to the inclement weather.  His final score came in at 149.

Isaac Rohleder matched Parker’s final round score with a 72.  He made one of the largest improvements between rounds in the entire event, dropping his score by 10 strokes from his opening round tally.  He finished in a tie for 39^th with a total of 154.  Henry Kiel completed the tournament with a 156, completing both rounds with a 78.  He tied for 44^th.

Michael Ikejiani and Caleb Wassmer tied for 53^rd in the final standings with a 158.  In round two, Ikejiani matched his opening round score of 79.  Wassmer began the tournament with an 81 before lowering his score to a 77 in the final 18 holes.

The Purple Aces earned a ninth-place finish with a total of 614 strokes.  They were three behind 8^th-place finisher Arkansas-Pine Bluff.  Wright State held on for the team championship, defeating Tennessee Tech by four shots.  The Raiders tallied a 577 with TTU finishing at a 581.  UT Martin completed the event 11 strokes behind with a 590.  Tyler Goecke of WSU was the medalist.  Following a 1-under 70 to open play, he shot an even 71 to finish three strokes ahead of the field.

In two weeks, the men will wrap up the 2021-22 campaign at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship.  It will take place on April 25-26 in Paducah, Ky.

Aces led by Carson Parker in first round

OLD HICKORY, Tenn. – On a rainy day at Hermitage Golf Club Presidents Reserve, the University of Evansville men’s golf team and the other participating teams completed just under the two scheduled rounds before play was suspended for the day.

In round one, the Purple Aces were led by Carson Parker.  A 6-over 77 has him tied for the 30^th position.  One behind him with a 78 was Henry Kiel.  His 7-over for the day put him in a tie for 37^th.  Michael Ikejiani was one stroke behind Kiel with a 79 to rank in a tie for 44^th.

Checking in with a score of 81 was Caleb Wassmer.  The tally for the opening 18 holes has him tied for 55^th.  Wrapping up the UE contingent was Isaac Rohleder.  He completed the first round with an 82.

As a team, Evansville ranks 11^th on the leaderboard.  UE is two strokes outside of the top 10, trailing North Carolina A&T and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.  UE finished the day with a 315 while the duo in front is tied for 9^th with a 313.  Wright State paces the team standings with a 292.  The Raiders are three in front of Tennessee Tech and four on top of UT Martin.

Tyler Goecke of Wright State was the lone individual to shoot under par in the first 18.  His 1-under 70 has him in front of Belmont’s Jack Uselton by one shot.  Peyton Thevenot of John A. Logan College is in third with a 72.

On Tuesday, the teams will complete any remaining holes for the second round before beginning the third and final trip around the course.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men’s Basketball program picked up their third signee for the 2022 recruiting class Monday afternoon in the form of six-foot-three guard Ryan Oliver from Cane Ridge High School in Nashville, Tenn.

Oliver averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists this past season for the Ravens and was named Second Team Large Class All-Midstate in Tennessee.

“I saw him play. I went down and saw him play and that’s how we got on him,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “During this recruiting tour, I’ve seen a million different guys and I went to the State tournaments at all the surrounding states and Ryan was a guy that stood out to me as a guy that we would want in here.”

“Everything about him. He’s just a good basketball player,” Franklin added. “He’s smart, sees the floor and is really a good shooter. Pretty good athlete, good size, 3.9 GPA student. I’m very excited about getting him. I think he’s a player that is always going to be able to fit in and play for good teams and good programs. We had him in here on a visit and it went really well. We’re super excited about getting him. Right now, I think he appears to be an excellent fit.”

Oliver played alongside McDonald’s All-American and Alabama signee Brandon Miller and together they helped guide Cane Ridge to the Quarterfinals of the Tennessee Large Class State Tournament this season and a berth in the State Finals as a junior.

Oliver was recently described as the Scottie Pippen to Brandon Miller’s Michael Jordan in an article by Tyler Palmateer of Main Street Nashville.

Cane Ridge head coach Marlin Simms told Clinger, “Is Brandon our best player? Sure. He fills the gym. We all appreciate it and love him for it. But Ryan is our glue guy. Rian is our most important player. If you understand basketball, you know that. He makes things happen.”

“You’ve got to have a Scottie Pippen, a great leader other guys look to,” Simms added. “Someone who acknowledges, ‘I can’t be Brandon Miller, but I sure enough can play my role.’ When you see a kid like Ryan buy into a role, you have no choice but to buy into a role, if you want to win.”

“He has been called, because the last two years Cane Ridge has been right at the very top of Tennessee and they always had Miller, so Ryan was the Pippen to Miller’s Jordan,” Franklin said. “Ryan really makes the team go and that was probably true as you watch him.”

“You could tell that he was the guy that other guys were looking to,” Franklin added. “He’s the guy that makes the pass to set up the next pass, he really knows where the ball needs to go. I really like that he is a guy that goes and finds the ball. He averages almost eight rebounds a game, but he goes out and finds the ball.”

“You could tell that he was a guy that, it didn’t matter how many he got, but his numbers are good and that’s with Miller taking a bunch of shots,” Franklin said. “Plus, they played great teams. They have been really good, so they were playing good level competition and they played in a lot of the National Tournaments. So those are legitimate numbers against some really good teams and players. He would take on some of the best guys to guard and just carried himself that way.”

“When he came in here and worked out with us it was the same way,” Franklin added. “He really shot the ball excellent when he was in here. I think that is a weapon that he brings that wasn’t talked about enough. He was a good player in AAU, but he has always been that guy who plays in the second kind of role. So maybe he got overlooked a little bit. He’s a top-five player in the Nashville-Metro Area, so I think it’s all there.”

“He’s like all of them, he has to come in here and work and do, but he was very excited about it and looks forward to being in here in the summer,” Franklin said. “I’m excited about getting him in here. We’ve got three guys that we’ve announced and one kid that we are waiting on him to do his signing before we announce it, but out of the four kids that we have signed so far, I think Ryan is a guy that helps good teams win. I think he fits in well with other good players. The fact that he can be a good player, with other good players and it does not hurt his game, is very important.”

“We are excited about him. He’s a really good student, his coaches love him. I think he’s a guy that will transition into playing with other good players very quickly and that’s what you have to do if you are going to play at a Championship level place.”