All five players had at least one memorable day: Shane Ochs, who led the team with a tie for 27th, went 72-74-69; Andrew Flynn shot 76-67-74; Timmy Hollenbeck got better each day, going 77-73-70; Adam Horn went 74-74-78; and Brock Rumpke shot 78-72-81.
But golfers tend to gravitate toward what could have been. And the Raiders will have a hard time forgetting their first-round 15-over-par 299.
They were even-par on the front nine but 15-over on the back. They went from hovering in the middle of the pack — “Yikes, we’re ahead of Oklahoma State!” — to sinking to the bottom.
Five players tee off, and four scores count. And only Ochs, who had a 72, did better than the field average of 72.93.
“We’re kind of kicking ourselves with our finish (Monday). “Hopefully, one of these days, we’ll show up at one of these and, right off the rip, we’ll play how we know we can,” Lash said.
Host Illinois, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Troy and Texas Tech advanced to the 30-team nationals May 23-28 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Dayton’s Ben Cors, competing as an individual, went 76-73-77 to tie for 62nd.
Lash and the Raiders are becoming regulars at NCAA regionals, having gone in three of his four years.
And with what they have coming back, though getting through the Horizon League is no gimme, they’ll be strong candidates to earn an automatic bid again next year.
They were 12th out of 14 teams last year and tied for ninth out of 13 teams in 2022.
Their best showing in five previous trips before that was 13th in a 14-team regional in 2019.
“The biggest thing is seeing we can compete. That’s just the overarching thing of the whole week — proving to ourselves we can do it. And (Tuesday) proved it,” said Lash, whose team improved 13 shots in the second-round with a 2-over 286.
“Over the years, you lose Tyler (Goecke), you lose Mikkel (Mathiesen), you lose some good role players, and we’ve been able to keep it going. We’re proving to the guys and recruits and future recruits that you can come here and develop.”
They lose Flynn and Rumpke, but returnees Ochs and Hollenbeck were HL co-players of the year, while Horn was a second-team all-league pick in 2024.
“That’s a good nucleus. We’ve got some good freshmen coming in. There’s guys on the team that keep getting better every year,” Lash said.
“I always say this: It’s hard to be in the moment as a coach. Yeah, I’m excited about this year. But you’re also like, ‘I’m ready for next year. Let’s get after it.’”
Lash brought all 10 players on the trip to Illinois, trying to whet their appetite for more postseason frolicking.
That group included their designated sub, sophomore Spaniard Ali Berker, and four other underclassmen.
“We’re going to have a bunch of guys in the program who got a little taste of it. They know we can play with these guys, and if you work hard, you can do it,” Lash said.
“We even talked in a team meeting about finishing off the tournament well, but also trying to learn for next year.”
But Lash knows there’s a gap between mid-majors and the elite programs, saying: “We’re picking up balls at Beavercreek (Golf Club) to hit, and Illinois has a $7.2 million facility.”
But the Raiders are making progress in off-course amenities, having opened the Tobey Family Golf Studio last year.
It includes a private locker room and lounge, two simulator screens for indoor range work and a massive practice green.
“The Tobey family has been great to us. We’ve had a bunch of other donors give us money and support us, too,” Lash said.
“We have some good momentum going. It’s great to see. It helps the guys when they get more gear and get to go play in cool tournaments. If you can keep stacking that up, it definitely helps with recruiting and growing the program.”
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