Frideres aces #12
April 21, 2008

Loras College golfer Noel Frideres, a sophomore from East Moline, Illinois, made a hole in one in the final round of the Buena Vista Invitational in Storm Lake, Iowa on Saturday.

Frideres made his ace on the par-3 #12 hole at Lake Creek Country Club. The hole description, courtesy of the Lake Creek website states, "This hole isn't very tricky, just extremely long. With out of bounds left, the players tendency is to bail out to the right of the green and leave a very difficult chip. Bogies will be plentiful."

The sophomore used a 4-iron on the hole, which measured 205 yards on Saturday. Storm Lake, located in western Iowa, is widely regarded as one of the windiest Iowa Conference cities to play in, regardless of the sport.

"From where the tee box is on 12, you couldn't see where the ball ended up," head coach Denise Udelhofen said. "When Noel and I walked to the green, we thought maybe it had somehow rolled off. We both were obviously very happy to find it in the cup, with the help of some onlookers who watched it roll in."

It was the first hole in one of Noel's career.

"It couldn't have come at a better time because I was off to a bad start on the first few holes," Noel said Monday. He started his round on #9, and Udelhofen was walking with his group at the time. "It was a good thing coach was watching me on the par-3 because she helped calm me down. (She) told me to just hit a good shot in order to regain some momentum. I hit a really good shot at the pin, but we couldn't see the hole because of a mound, so coach told me she would walk up to the green with me 'just in case'."

"I didn't know what to say...I have never experienced anything like it before!"

Frideres will be a part of the Duhawks' roster over the next two weekends for the IIAC Championships. Rounds one and two will be played at Finkbine Golf Club in Iowa City, Iowa and rounds three and four will be played at Oneota Golf and Country Club in Decorah, Iowa.