Men’s golf coach Jon Mills said he was disappointed in his team’s finish in the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.

After tying for second in back-to-back tournaments, the Flashes placed ninth out of 15 teams in the three-day tournament. It ran from Sunday to Tuesday.

“It was a type of course where you really kind of had to shoot low,” Mills said. “And we didn’t do a good job of that.”

The Flashes tied with Middle Tennessee State.

As a team, KSU finished 1-over par at 856. Cincinnati finished first in the tournament with a 30-under 834. Missouri came in second with a 26-under 838.

Toledo, the only other Mid-American Conference team at the tournament, took 11th place with a 7-over 871.

“It really comes down to making too many bogeys and mistakes on holes that we got to be making pars or birdies,” Mills said. “With the mistakes, the Flashes still have a lot to improve on before their next tournament.”

Sophomore Jordan Gilkison, who led the way for the Flashes, tied for 15th with a 4-over 212. He had his best performance in Tuesday’s round, where he carded a 67.

“I know Jordan would be really happy with how he played, especially that last round,” Mills said. “He was not playing as well as he would like recently, and I know that was definitely a nice way to end it.”

Gilkison — last year’s MAC freshman of the year — tallied a 71 in the first round of the tournament and a 74 in the second round.

Sophomore Bryce Reed tied for 23rd with a 1-under 215. Senior Chris Vandette tied for 29th, going for par and carding 216.

Kent State has two weeks to prepare for the Williams Cup tournament Oct. 21-23. This is the final tournament of the team’s fall season.

“The one thing that we’re definitely focusing on is the short game,” Mills said. “I felt like some things when it came to easy, straightforward shots, we didn’t get up and down and those are the mistakes you can’t make.

“We’re trying to be a little more efficient around the greens. That’s ultimately the plan. We go down to Wilmington here and the goal is to finish this fall ball off on a good note.”

Brady Hamilton is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].