EVANSVILLE — The front nine and back nine at Evansville Country Club can best be described by starkly different adjectives.

Madison Memorial prep boys golf coach Jeremy Schlitz calls the front nine "at least four shots harder," forcing players to play through their mistakes and not get discouraged.

At the Big Eight Conference meet Thursday, Schlitz's Spartans came up with a new term to describe Evansville's front nine: Momentum booster.

Memorial weathered the storm on the front nine and parlayed the gritty performance into a stellar back nine, combining to shoot 6-over par on the final nine holes en route to a team score of 309.

After winning their first conference title since 1987 last spring, the Spartans are now back-to-back Big Eight champions after beating second-place Middleton by eight shots.

"If we start off well on the front nine, it seems our back nines are always lower than in front," said Memorial senior Stephen Lange, who shot four strokes better on the back for a score of 80. "We go into autopilot on the back nine where we get on in two, two putt, get out of there and not think about every single little detail that can mess you up."

That frame of mind was crucial for the Spartans on the back nine.

In addition to Lange, Scott Regan improved two shots for an 80 and Quinn Moe improved five shots to shoot 77.

Led by an even-par 72 by Jason An, who finished third among individuals, Memorial couldn't be stopped.

"Our depth has really helped us this year, but it is also our resilience," Schlitz said. "You can't get it all back with one shot, and they are willing to grind it out and play hard because they are doing it for the team."

Madison La Follette junior Andrew Steinhofer, fresh off a victory in last week's Morgan Stanley Shootout, carded a 3-under 69 to win the individual title.

Much like the Memorial players, Steinhofer survived the front nine, then birdied
Nos. 11, 15 and 17 to edge teammate Max Hosking, who finished second with a 2-under 70.

"I was hitting them close all back nine, and when I needed to make the putts, I made them," Steinhofer said. "It feels good to win here."

Steinhofer's joy, along with the rest of his teammates, was somewhat subdued afterward with friend and teammate Derek Douglas being forced to quit early into his round after learning his grandfather had passed away. Without Douglas' assistance, La Follette ended up eighth in the nine-team field.

"That hurt us," Steinhofer said. "That's sad to hear about his grandpa, and losing him definitely did not help us."

Team scores: Madison Memorial 309, Middleton 317, Madison West 324, Janesville Craig 324, Janesville Parker 331, Beloit Memorial 331, Sun Prairie 333, Madison La Follette 336, Madison East 343.
Top individuals: 1, Steinhofer, MLF, 69; 2, Hosking, MLF, 70; 3, An, MM, 72; 4, Battista, MW, 76; 5, A. Cobb, SP, 76.
Madison Memorial — An 72, Moe 77, Lange 80, Regan 80. Middleton — Gerner 78, Luebke 78, Schilling 80, Stone 81. Madison West — Battista 76, Griffin 79, Welch 83, Statz 86. Janesville Craig — Roherty 77, Tabbert 80, Hesse 83, Hainstock 84. Janesville Parker — Larson 78, Tearman 78, Benzel 87, Ludwig 88. Beloit Memorial — Dahlberg 79, Meier 82, Mauel 84, Lang 86. Sun Prairie — A. Cobb 76, Schoewe 84, T. Cobb 86, McLlquham 87. Madison La Follette — Steinhofer 69, Hosking 70, Feuerstein 98, Beale 98. Madison East — Kinney 85, Kirst 85, Wanke 86, Davis 87.
At Evansville GC, par 72.