DePaul University

April 2, 2011

Weekly Release

CHICAGO - Coming off the best performance of the season, the DePaul golf team looks to continue the strong play in the final event before the BIG EAST Championship. DePaul is one of 16 teams competing at the Columbia Orthopedic Group Mizzou Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday in Columbia, Mo.

The Mizzou Intercollegiate features two rounds on Monday followed by the final 18 holes on Tuesday at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia. Both days begin at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start. The Old Club at Hawthorne features a par-72 layout over 7,221 yards.

Joining host Missouri at the 16-team event is: Arkansas-Little Rock, Ball State, Belmont, Creighton, Cincinnati, DePaul, Eastern Michigan, IUPUI, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Oral Roberts, South Dakota State, Toledo and Xavier.

DePaul's lineup for this week's action includes Ben Westley, Charles Boucher, Maximilian Mayer, Moritz Ackerhans and Russell Budd.

Noting the Blue Demons: Freshman Moritz Ackerhans (9 rounds) leads the team with a 74.11 scoring average... junior Ben Westley (24 rounds) is second with a 74.25 scoring average... those two are followed by senior Charles Boucher at 75.63 and freshman Maximilian Mayer (76.42)... Boucher is the lone senior on the roster... six of the 10 members of the roster are either freshmen or sophomores... Ackerhans joined the program at the start of the Winter quarter... Ackerhans' rounds of 69 in the first two rounds of the Spring Break Championship are the low rounds of the season...Russell Budd held the best round of the season a year ago with a 67 in the first round of the Xavier Invitational... Budd has recorded four career rounds of 70 or better in 17 career events... Westley leads the team with four top 25 finishes this season... Boucher and Budd have recorded two top 25 finishes.

Ackerhans Claims BIG EAST Honor: Freshman Moritz Ackerhans earned BIG EAST Men's Golfer of the Week honors for the week ending March 29 after leading the Blue Demons to their best finish of the season over the weekend at the Spring Break Championship. It is the first BIG EAST weekly honor for a DePaul golfer.

The conference office selected Ackerhans for the honor after the freshman finished in a tie for second at the Spring Break Championship at Gleneagles Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla. Ackerhans shot rounds of 69, 69 and 73 to finish with a three-round total of 211 (-5). He posted DePaul bests of single-round total (69), best 54-hole total (211) and best finish (tied for second) of the season. Ackerhans led the tournament after the first two rounds with back-to-back scores of 69 in just his third career collegiate tournament. He helped DePaul to sixth-place as a team, the highest team finish for the Blue Demons this season.

Spring Review: DePaul opened the spring portion of the season with a 1-2 record at The Match Play in Tampa, Fla. The Blue Demons dropped matches against Xavier and Cleveland State before defeating Cincinnati.

DePaul finished 12th at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate (Feb. 21-22) and 16th at the USF Invitational (Mar. 4-6).

The Blue Demons put together their best finish of the season at the Spring Break Championship on Mar. 25-27. DePaul placed sixth in the tournament hosted by FAU with Moritz Ackerhans finishing in a tie for second.

Following the Mizzou Intercollegiate (April 4-5), the Blue Demons head back to Florida for the BIG EAST Championship (April 17-19).

Fall Recap: DePaul posted its best finish of the Fall schedule with an eighth place at the John Dallio Memorial on Sept. 25 and 26. Russell Budd opened the season with back-to-back 12th-place finishes at the Cardinal Collegiate and John Dallio Memorial for the top individual finishes of the Fall portion of the season.

After placing 17th at the D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate and 11th at the Georgetown Intercollegiate, the Blue Demons concluded the Fall scheduled with a 10th-place finish at the Bill Cullum Invitational

Looking Ahead: The Mizzou Intercollegiate serves as the final tune-up for the BIG EAST Championship. The league tournament is scheduled for April 17-19 in Palm Harbor, Fla. at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club.