Echikson, Davidson Golf Third After First Day of Wexford Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - Led by freshman Sam Echikson's one-over-par score, the Davidson men's golf team sits third out of 14 teams Monday with a two-round score of 593 at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate hosted Francis Marion at the Wexford Plantation Course on Hilton Head Island Monday.
The Wildcats are just six strokes out of the top spot, which is held by William & Mary (587). Davidson combined for a first-round 300 and followed with a 293, a score only bested by William & Mary's 291. No. 28 Indiana sits second, two strokes off the lead at 589.
Echikson fired a first-round 73 on the 6,828-yard, par 72 course and followed with an even-par 72 to finish the day at 145, tied with Indiana's Zach Glassman and two strokes off the lead held by Sebastian Backlund (Francis Marion) and Brant Peaper (Indiana) at 145, one-under-par.
Sophomore John Skeadas is tied for 10th place at 148 after recovering from a first-round 78 with a two-under 70 in the second round.
Junior Jackson Taylor sits in a tie for 27th at 152, while freshman Richard Fountain is in a tie for 32nd place at 153. Bobby Urso finished the first day at 156.
The Wildcats lead four Southern Conference teams: Furman (sixth, 601), Elon (10th, 611), Samford (11th, 613) and Western Carolina (12th,617).
The tournament will conclude Tuesday with the third-and-final round.
Aloi Paces Paladins at Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate
Hilton Head Island, S.C. - Junior Anthony Aloi (76-71=147) fired a second round 71 to take a share of fifth place and move the Furman men's golf team into sixth after two rounds at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate at the par-72 Wexford Plantation on Monday.
Aloi's one-under 71, which followed an opening round 76 during the morning round, was the low round of the day for the Paladins and boosted Furman (304-297=601) to a nine-over 297 second round. Matt Brown (73-76=149), on the strength of a one-over 73 first round, holds a share of 14th place while Johnny Kyger (75-77=152) is tied for 27th.
William & Mary (296-291=587) holds a two-stroke advantage over second place Indiana (289-300=589) after 36 holes with Davidson, Richmond and host Francis Marion rounding out the top five in the 14-team field. Brant Peaper (72-71=143) of Indiana and Sebastian Backlund (71-72=143) of Francis Marion are tied for first place in the individual standings after two rounds.
Final round action in the 54-hole tournament is set for Tuesday morning.
6 Furman 304 297 601
T5 Anthony Aloi 76 71 147
T14 Matt Brown 73 76 149
T27 Johnny Kyger 75 77 152
T32 Matt Broome 80 73 153
T67 J.B. Murphy 81 80 161
Elon Men's Golf Opens Spring in 10th at Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD, S.C. -- Monday opened the 2011 spring men's golf season for the Elon Phoenix which is participating in the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate hosted by Francis Marion. After 36 holes of play, Elon sits 10th in the 14-team field with a score of 611 (302-309).
Red-shirt freshman John Somers carded rounds of 73 and 76 for a first-day total of 149 and sits in a tie for 14th among the 75 golfers in the field. He is followed by Tanner Norton who posted a score of 152 (78-74) on day one to sit in a tie for 27th.
Just one stroke back is Stephen Dressel who carded a mark of 153 (74-79) and will enter Tuesday's final round of play in a tie for 32nd. Leif Neijstrom's 157 (77-80) has him in a tie for 53rd while Jack Adkins is in a tie for 67th following a two-round score of 161 (78-83).
Francis Marion's Sebastian Backlund and Indiana's Brant Peaper currently hold a two-stroke advantage over a duo tied for third. Backlund and Peaper both posted first-day totals of 143.
The team leaderboard sees William & Mary (296-291--587) holding a two-stroke edge over Indiana (289-300--589) with SoCon rival Davidson (300-293--593) sitting in third. Richmond (301-294--595) and Francis Marion (302-297--599) round out the top five.
Also among the field are SoCon opponents Furman (6th; 304-297--601), Samford (11th; 308-305--613) and Western Carolina (12th; 312-305--617).
WCU Men's Golf Plays Two Rounds of Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate
Western Carolina began the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate Monday in Hilton Head, S.C. with an opening day team score of 617, sitting just outside of the top ten in 12th place.
Hilton Head, S.C. - Western Carolina began the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate Monday in Hilton Head, S.C. with an opening day team score of 617, sitting just outside of the top ten in 12th place. Thirty-six holes were played on Monday at the par 72, 6,828-yard Wexford Plantation course.
Freshman Jack Walsh leads the Catamounts in the individual standings, tied for 14th place, after finishing Monday five over-par, shooting a 76 (+4) and a 73 (+1) for the day.
William and Mary sits atop the leaderboard after 36 holes in the team category posting a 587. Indiana led after 18 holes, but is two strokes off of the leader with SoCon foe Davidson College in third place after shooting 593 on Monday.
Sophomore Trey White picked up an eagle on Monday, but shot a pair of 78's to finish the day tied for 59th. Greg Bunner shot an opening round score of 80, but rallied back on the second round and lowered his score seven strokes to finish at 153 (+9) for the day.
South Carolina native Collin Witiak finished the day at 159 (+15), and Michael Fitzgerald fought his way through the opening day with a 163 (+19).
The final 18 holes will be played Tuesday with the final round set to begin at 8:30 a.m.
UNCG goes to 11th after second round of Puerto Rico Classic
DEL MAR, Puerto Rico - Freshman Andy Knox and sophomore Robert Hoadley repeated Sunday's performances with 1-over-par 73s on Monday to move the UNCG men's golf team up a spot in the 15-team Puerto Rico Classic. The Spartans are alone in 11th - ahead of four of the Top 33 teams in the most recent national rankings - through 36 of the event's 54 holes.
UNCG (589) is two strokes back of 10th-place East Tennessee State and six back of N.C. State, which occupies ninth. The Spartans, who began the week rated 86th among the nation's 300 Division I programs by golfweek.com, lead four Big Ten programs in competition at the River Course at Rio Mar Country Club. Play concludes with Tuesday's final round, set to start at 9 a.m. EST at the course 20 miles east of San Juan.
"We had a solid round, the wind howled and the guys battled through it," Spartan coach Terrance Stewart said. "The entire team closed the round with birdies and saved the day. I expect the team to play very well in the final round."
Colin Chapman, who shot a 74 on Monday, and Will Almand (75) rounded out a balanced day for the Spartans. UNCG's other competitor, Justin Clement, rebounded impressively from Sunday's 81 by carding a 75 in the second round.
Knox started and finished strong, recording birdies on his first hole of the day, No. 16, and his last, the 15th. Hoadley, who also started on 16, recovered from a double bogey on 17 to play 1-under golf the rest of the way over the 6,904-yard course.
Knox and Hoadley moved from a 36th-place tie among individuals to 30th place and hope to continue the consistency as the tournament winds down. So far, Knox is following the path plotted by Hoadley, an All-Southern Conference selection as a freshman last year. He has posted scores of 74 or better in each of his past five rounds in a run that dates back to the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate in the fall.
Georgia Tech and Alabama share the 36-hole lead in the tournament at 14-under 562.
PUERTO RICO INVITATIONAL
Rio Mar CC, River Course (Par-72, 6904 yards)
Del Mar, PR
Team scores
t1. Georgia Tech 562; t1. Alabama 562; 3. Oklahoma State 568; 4. Virginia Tech 573; 5. Oklahoma 576; 6. Texas 577; 7. Georgia 580; 8. Clemson 581; 9. NC State 583; 10. East Tennessee State 587; 11 UNCG 589; 12. Purdue 590; 13. Ohio State 591; 14. Northwestern 592; 15. Michigan 602.
Individual scores
Top 10: 1. Bud Cauley (Alabama) 69-68-137; t2. Morgan Hoffmann (Oklahoma State) 71-67-138; t2. James White (Georgia Tech) 69-69-138; 4, Kyle Scott (Georgia Tech) 70-69-139; t5. Marshall Bailey (Virginia Tech) 69-71-140; t5. Trey Mullinax (Alabama) 71-69-140; t.5 Bobby Wyatt (Alabama) 69-71-140; t8. Garland Green (Virginia Tech) 70-71-141; t8. Riley Pumphrey (Oklahoma) 70-71-141; t10. Taylor Gooch (Oklahoma State) 71-71-142; t10. J.T. Griffin (Georgia Tech) 70-72-142.
UNCG golfers: t30. Robert Hoadley 73-73--146; t30. Andy Knox 73-73--146; t52. Will Almand 74-75--149; t46. Colin Chapman 74-74--148; t73. Justin Clement 81-75--156.