CHASKA, Minn. – Sophomore Noah Kent, competing in his first USGA championship, fell in the finals of the U.S. Amateur to Jose Luis Ballester after 36 holes of match play on Sunday. Kent finishes the tournament as runner-up and earns invites to The Masters and the U.S. Open. Kent was looking to become the first Hawkeye to win the U.S. Amateur.

The pair of golfers teed off at 7:15 a.m. (CT) where they played the opening 18 holes. Ballester won three of the first four holes. Kent played his first round at four-over par while Ballester opened with even par. After the first 18, Kent trailed Ballester by four.

Kent started the second 18 strongly with a chip-in on hole one to cut the deficit to three. Kent then drilled an eagle putt on hole seven to cut the deficit to just two. Going into the back nine, Kent trailed by two.

Ballester responded and took the first two holes on the back nine to expand his lead back to four up. Kent caught fire and won holes 13 and 14 to cut the deficit back to 2. After tying the 15th, Kent won hole 16 to become one down. Both players would go on to par hole 17 before Ballester was able to win hole 18 and secure the victory.

Ballester came into the tournament as the world’s No. 10 ranked Amateur while Noah came in as the No. 560th ranked amateur.

An incredible week for the 19-year-old has come to an end. Next up for Kent is the 2024-25 fall season.

MISSOULA, Mont. — No. 25 University of Iowa Soccer defeated Colorado College, 4-1, on Sunday to conclude play at the Rumble in the Rockies. The Hawkeyes officially start the season with a win.

Though Iowa posted a 7-1 advantage in shot attempts during the first half, Colorado College struck first with a transition goal in the box in the 15th minute. From there, Iowa would score four unanswered goals.

Sophomore Sofia Bush started the rally with a deep strike from outside the box. The high-arching shot zipped over the heads of Predator defenders and the reaching goalkeeper, Regan Wallace, to equalize before the break. Senior Elle Otto was credited with an assisted on the play.

The second half belonged to freshman Berkley Binggeli, who recorded her first collegiate brace in the final 45 minutes. Binggeli’s first score emerged from a scrum in the box to put the Hawkeyes ahead in the 57th minute.

Binggeli struck again in the 81st minute, this time delivering the dagger on an assist from senior Meike Ingles. Moments later, Ingles delivered the final on another assist from Otto with six minutes left on the clock.

Iowa dominated the box score with a 19-5 differential on shots and 10-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Hawkeyes took 10 corner kicks, compared to none for the Predators.

Ingles led the Hawkeyes in shots (6), joining graduate-student Kelli McGroarty and sophomore Millie Greer with two shots on goal apiece.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH DAVE DIIANNI

“I am very happy with our team’s mentality and approach to not only this game but what has occurred this weekend. I thought that today we showed a glimpse of what our program can look like this year with the quality of depth coming from young players and transfers added to our returners. We will continue to grow in the demands of the game as teams and situations change. Great start to the year. ”

HAWKEYE NOTABLES

The Hawkeyes have won four consecutive season openers dating back to 2021. Iowa moves to 1-2-0 all-time against Colorado College.
The last time Iowa scored four goals in a match was the win over Maryland (5-0) in 2023; the last time the Hawkeyes posted at least 10 shots on goal was against Bucknell (11 SOG) in the NCAA Tournament First Round a year ago.
Brace Yourselves: Binggeli’s two goals come on the heels of a similar performance from fellow freshman Berit Parten on Thursday against Oregon State. Parten recorded two goals in the first half prior to the match’s cancellation due to weather; as a result of the cancellation, game statistics were officially voided. The freshmen are the first Hawkeyes to score multiple goals in a match since Hailey Rydberg (‘22) against Nebraska in 2022.
2 for the Money: Iowa’s record is 44-2-3 in its last 49 games when scoring two goals or more, which dates back to October of 2017.
90 Tracker: No Iowa position players recorded 90 minutes on Sunday. Twenty-two Hawkeyes saw the pitch against Colorado College.

UP NEXT

Iowa travels to Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Aug. 22 to take on Western Michigan. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT). The Hawkeyes face Texas on Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. on the road.

Highschool football is back this week for the Atlantic Trojan’s who are coming off a (3-6) campaign in 2023. The Trojans lost some offensive firepower from last year’s squad in leading receiver Colton Rasmussen and leading rusher Dante Hedrington both graduating over the summer. Rasmussen had 26 receptions and 6 touchdowns last season. Hedrington averaged five yards per touch and scored 7 times on the ground a year ago. Even with the absence of those two, Atlantic head coach Joe Brummer is excited about the upcoming season from the growth he’s seen from over the summer.

The Trojans do return a lot of strength up front and will look to have more of a rush first emphasis on offense.

Part of that rushing attack for Atlantic will be the strength from junior Gavin McLaren who averaged over six yards per carry last season and 490 yards rushing. Senior Tyson O’Brien will also be looked to in the run game with his 27 carries from last year.

Brummer is not the only one who saw progress with Atlantic over the summer. Senior defensive back Kinnick Juhl noted that his teammates have been building chemistry with each other.

Juhl led the team in interceptions last year with 4 and collected 32.5 tackles. Juhl says the expectations for the Trojans this year is a playoff appearance.

To achieve a postseason matchup, senior tight end Xavier Darrow says Atlantic will have an aggressive mentality against each opponent.

Atlantic’s first game of the year will be on Friday in Atlantic against the Council Bluffs Jefferson Yellow Jackets. Kickoff is set for 7:00pm and KJAN will bring you pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m.