Cyclone golfers take 16th at nationals

After a long winter, the Cyclones were finally able to strut their skills on the links at the NJCAA Division II Tournament at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Indiana. In only the third time in the history of Moraine Valley’s golf program, the entire team competed and finished 16th nationally.

Having earned an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference co-championship in September and a second place finish in the NJCAA Region IV Tournament in October, the Cyclones had to wait until last week (May 24-27) for their final contest of the season. And they didn’t disappoint. Among talented and stiff competition, the team of five played consistently every day, evidenced by their scores.

Playing the best golf of his Moraine Valley career, sophomore Dave Karwoski (Oak Forest) led the charge (77, 78, 78, 76) and was followed by last season’s individual national qualifier and Lincoln-Way East alum Matt Contey (78, 75, 78, 80), Lincoln-Way North product John Orowick (80, 83, 81, 77), Minooka grad Steve Andreano (79, 77, 85, 82), who played a couple of his best rounds of the year, and Oak Forest alum Connor Lille (88, 88, 84, 83). During the regular season, Contey, Lille and Orowick were All-Conference and All-Region players while Karwoski was an All-Conference player.

“I’m very happy with the way everybody played. It was a talented field with golfers from all over the world. It’s more of an international tournament not a national tournament. We held our own and played respectable. When a team can average 79, 80, that’s pretty good. I’m proud to be their coach. They are a class act. They just came to play their best,” said head Coach Bob Freudenthal.

This caps an overall successful season and is a fitting farewell to Coach Freudenthal, who is retiring after leading the golf program since 1990. During that time, he’s coached his crew to nine Skyway championships and three nationals, and taken several individual golfers to the NJCAA Division II tournament as well. He also was named Skyway Conference Coach of the Year nine times.

“It’s been challenging, exciting, enjoyable, and rewarding all these years. Just being around golf and the quality of golfers has been a privilege. I’ve had several quality golfers on every team, and it’s kept me excited all these years,” he said. “It’s been a great run. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to coach. I’m going out on a high note. These are fine, young men. They were respectful, down to earth, good players, good people, and they had strong character. I’ll miss being with the guys and miss being on the course. It’s like a second home.”