The Bowling Green men’s golf team started out hot at the FirstEnergy Intercollegiate in Akron over the weekend, but fizzled in the last two rounds of the tournament en route to a ninth place finish.

The Falcons shot a 301 in the first round, and sat in fourth place. That put them in front of some solid teams, included Penn State, a team that finished last season ranked No. 15 in the nation.

“That first round was probably our best round of the year,” BG head coach Garry Winger said. “The 301 was not the best score, but due to the conditions it put us in a tie for fourth place.”

Unfortunately for the Falcons, that is where their good fortunes ran out. In the second round, which was later in the day, when the weather was nicer, the Falcons managed to shoot just a 307.

“In the afternoon, our score was higher,” Winger said. “All the other teams got better and we didn’t.”

And that is what translated to the ninth place finish out of 15 teams.

The Falcons were paced by Heath Ziglar, who finished 15th with a three-round score of 224 (301-307-303). Ziglar has been the top shooter for the Falcons since the Hawkeye Invitational on Sept. 26. He looks to be the man that leads the Falcons into battle the rest of the season.

Even with his consistent play, Ziglar fell into the same category as the rest of the Falcons as he couldn’t quite match his showing in the first round.

One surprise for the Falcons at the FirstEnergy tournament was the showing from Dan McIntyre, who finished 18th with a score of 225.

“I just can’t say enough about that kid,” Winger said. “He’s really saved our butts the last few tournaments.”

The problem with BG hasn’t been at the top of their lineup. They have had troubles this season finding a consistent fifth golfer.

BG has one more tournament this coming weekend at the Roger Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus before moving on to the MAC Championships in Westerville, Ohio in two weeks.

By that time, the Falcons will be looking for a solid lineup to make a run at the MAC title.

“Craig Pickerel, who over the past four years is the obvious answer,” Winger said.

Pickerel won BG’s first two meets in the fall, but since then has fallen out of the top spot as Ziglar has come on. The Falcons will look to Pickerel and the rest of the potential number fives to step up before it’s too late.

This weekend’s Kepler Intercollegiate is set for Saturday and Sunday.