DADE CITY, Fla. - The Drake University men's golf team opens its 2021 spring season Monday and Tuesday at the annual Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play hosted by Ball State University at Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club in Dade City, Fla. Drake is the event's defending champions after defeating Eastern Michigan in 2020.
 
There will be no live stats this year for the match play event. Results will be shared via the @BallStateMGolf account on Twitter and will be posted to www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com after conclusion of play each day.
 
Along with the host Cardinals, participating teams in 2021, include Missouri Valley Conference rivals, Evansville (6) and Loyola (2) along with DePaul (5) and UConn (4). The Bulldogs will face the Huskies Monday morning and Ball State (1) in the afternoon followed by the Ramblers Tuesday. Teams earn one point for a team win and a half point for a tie. The team with the most points at the end of the three matches is the champion.
 
Drake, which played a limited fall slate due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, is the No. 3 seed this year in the match play after winning it as the No. 7 seed one year ago. The Bulldogs start the spring coming off a great fall where they won the annual Zach Johnson Invitational at Glen Oaks and they beat Valparaiso in a dual match at Spirit Hollow Golf Course in Burlington, Iowa.
 
Drake Lineup for Day One of Yestingsmeier Match Play
1. Tim Lim
2. Shayne Patel
3. Lucas Scherf
4. Nick Pittman
5. Kyle MacDonald
6. Silvester Tan
 
Drake will return to the Sunshine State March 1-2 for the Loyola Maryland Tournament in Palm Beach, Fla.