HAMMOCK BEACH, Fla. — The 11th-seeded Badgers finished fourth at the 13th annual Big Ten Match Play after going on a run to defeat two higher-seeded teams on Friday. 

In the first round on Friday, Wisconsin faced sixth-seeded Rutgers. The Badgers won 4-1 with Nick Robinson, Griffin Barela, Coalter Smith and Cameron Huss all winning their matches.

The second round on Friday saw the Badgers paired against the third-seeded Boilermakers. Wisconsin defeated Purdue 3-2 with Smith, Huss and Robbie Morway taking the point in their matches.

With two wins on Friday, Wisconsin moved into the semifinal on Saturday. The Badgers faced top-seeded Indiana and fell 3-1-1. Barela won his match 1Up and Robinson tied his.

The loss to the Hoosiers sent the Badgers into the third-place match against eighth-seeded Michigan State. Wisconsin lost its final match 4-1 against the Hoosiers, but still came out with a fourth-place finish. Coalter Smith won his match 3&1.

"Overall there were a ton of positives this week," said head coach Michael Burcin. "We beat two good teams on Friday and it was fun to be in this position on Saturday."

"All in all, the week went pretty well for us," said sophomore Coalter Smith. "We were pretty bummed to not win, but yesterday was really good."

This is Wisconsin's best finish in the Big Ten Match Play since finishing third in the 2018 Match Play tournament.

"Nick and Coalter were really solid all weekend and freshman Cameron Huss really did a lot of nice things," said Burcin. "I like this group and we have a chance to do some good things adding Sam back into the mix."

"This was definitely a good start to the season and we are really excited to try and accomplish what we know we can," said Smith. "Not to mention, it was really nice to be back on the course after almost a year."

Looking ahead, the Badgers' next competiton will be the Kiawah Invitational on Feb. 14-16 at Oak Point Golf Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

RESULTS

Round One

Wisconsin defeated Rutgers, 4-1
Nick Robinson def. C. Gotterup, 1Up
Griffin Barela def. D. Whatley, 1Up
Coalter Smith def. L. Wells, 5&3
Cameron Huss def. B. Hansen, 3&1
X. Marcoux def. Robbie Morway, 4&3
 

Robinson finishes 1Up over Rutgers' C. Gotterup

11th-seeded #Badgers defeat 7th-seeded Rutgers 4-1 to take the first match

— Wisconsin Men's Golf (@BadgerMGolf) February 5, 2021

Round Two

Wisconsin defeated Purdue, 3-2
J. Weiler def. Nick Robinson, 4&2
A. Farraye def. Griffin Barela, 1Up
Coalter Smith def. C. Bradley, 2&1
Cameron Huss def. H. Wibe Sekne, 3&2
Robbie Morway def. P. Snoeberger, 2Up

 

Robbie Morway finishes 2Up and the #Badgers have defeated Purdue 3-2 in the second round of the Big Ten Match Play

— Wisconsin Men's Golf (@BadgerMGolf) February 5, 2021

Round Three

Indiana defeated Wisconsin, 3-1-1
Nick Robinson tied M. Davis
Griffin Barela def. C. Merchent, 1Up
H. Reynolds def. Coalter Smith
D. Salyers def. Cameron Smith, 2Up
E. Shepherd def. Robbie Morway, 3&1
 

Round Four- Third Place Match
Michigan State def. Wisconsin, 4-1

J. Piot def. Nick Robinson, 3&2
B. Smithson def. Griffin Barela, 1Up
Coalter Smith def. T. Taylor II, 3&1
A. Walker def. Cameron Smith, 3&2
A. Meekhof def. Robbie Morway, 5&4

Big Ten Match Play Results

Place	Team (Seed)	Record
1	Indiana (10)	4-0
2	Iowa (5)	3-1
3	Michigan State (8)	3-1
4	Wisconsin (11)	2-2
5	Penn State (4)	1-1-1
6	Northwestern (1)	1-1-1
-	Minnesota (2)	0-1-2
-	Purdue (3)	0-2-1
-	Rutgers (6)	2-2
-	Ohio State (7)	2-2
-	Maryland (9)	2-2
-	Nebraska (12)	0-4