Echikson, Davidson capture
Davidson College Invitational titles
DAVIDSON, N.C. – In
addition to Sam Echikson claiming the individual crown, the host Wildcats
captured the 2013 Davidson College Invitational team title Tuesday afternoon at
River Run Country Club.
Echikson, who entered the final round two strokes off the
pace, carded an even-par 72 in his final round to finish the 36-hole event at
145 (+1), one clear of Guilford’s Noah Ratner (73-73=146).
Davidson won its second team title of the season with a
two-day score of 596 (297-299). The Wildcats finished four strokes ahead of
Marshall, while Radford, Elon and Campbell came home tied for third.
Through six events this season, Davidson has posted two
victories and three top-three showings.
Freshman David Sargent (74-76=150) recorded his best finish
of the year, placing tied for sixth, while Wildcat teammates Richard Fountain
(75-76=151) and John Skeadas (76-75=151) also tallied top-10 finishes.
Also competing for Davidson were Todd Eckstein (152/T-15th)
and individual participants Ben Murray (153/T-19th), Ralph Blasey (154/T-24th)
and Alex Nianouris (159/41st).
The Wildcats will enjoy a three-week break before returning
to the course at the Seahawk Invitational on March 24-25 in Wilmington, N.C.
Elon rallies to
finish third at Davidson College Invitational
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The
Elon men's golf team posted the lowest score of the second and final round to
rally from a seventh-place tie to a third-place tie at the conclusion of the
Davidson College Invitational on Tuesday.
The Phoenix shot a 298 on Tuesday after posting a 310 on Monday for a
tournament mark of 608.
Jack Adkins was the top Elon performer, placing in a tie for
10th out of the 60 golfers in the field with a score of 151 (81-70).
He was followed by Stuart Kaufman, who fired a second-round
73 to finish with a mark of 152 (79-73) to place in a tie for 15th.
Jeff Krieger's 154 (77-77) had him in a tie for 24th, while
both John Somers (79-78) and Will DiIanni (75-82) finished at 157 to tie for
34th.
Davidson's Sam Echikson claimed individual medalist honors
with a two-round score of 145 (73-72).
He edged out Guilford's Noah Ratner by one stroke for the title.
The 11-team field was led by host Davidson (297-299=596). The Wildcats finished four strokes ahead of
second-place Marshall (298-302=600).
Elon was one of three teams to finish with a 608. The others were Radford (307-301) and
Gardner-Webb (300-308).
The Maroon and Gold will be back on the course at the
Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate in Aiken, S.C., March 11-12.
Wofford finishes ninth
at Davidson Invitational
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The
Wofford men’s golf team finished in ninth place at the Davidson Invitational at
the par-72, 7,208 yard River Run Country Club.
The Terriers shot a 311 in the opening round and followed up
with a 323 over the final 18 holes for a 634.
Host Davidson took the top spot on the leaderboard after a 297-299=596.
Cory Taylor was the low Terrier with a 72-81=153, while
Charles Moore carded a 75-85=160. Brent
McKenzie and Brannan Hudson each shot an 82-79=161. George Perkovich was the final Wofford golfer
with an 85-84=169.
Davidson’s Sam Echikson took the top individual spot with a
73-72=145.
The tournament was originally scheduled for 54 holes, 36
holes to be played Monday, but frost on the course Monday morning limited play
to only 18 holes.
Wofford returns to the course with the Cleveland Golf
Palmetto Invitational on March 10.
Georgia Southern finishes
third at Samford Intercollegiate
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The
Georgia Southern golf team waited out some rain and grinded through a windy day
to shoot a 287 in the final round and take third at the Samford Intercollegiate
on Tuesday afternoon at Hoover Country Club.
Because frost delayed the start of the tournament Monday,
the Eagles had five holes to finish in the second round and posted a 298 Tuesday
morning before improving that total by 11 strokes in round three.
GSU’s 287 tied for the second-lowest team score in a round
for the tournament.
Georgia Southern (+16) was four strokes behind second-place
Vanderbilt (+12), while Auburn (+1) won the title after firing a 286 in the
final round. Winthrop (+23) placed fourth and Samford (+24) rounded out the top
five.
Will Evans led the way for the Eagles, posting a 70 in the
second round and a 72 in the third to tie for fifth, the best finish of his
career.
Scott Wolfes was one of three Eagles to fire a 72 in the
third round, joining Evans and classmate Charlie Martin, to tie for 14th.
Martin tied for 19th, while Hayden Anderson and Blake Olson tied for 24th. Anderson
carded a 1-under-par 71 in the final round, and Olson posted a 74.
Following the tournament at Samford, the Eagles will take a
week off before hosting the 34th annual Schenkel Invitational at Forest Heights
Country Club in Statesboro, Ga., on March 15-17.
Furman finishes ninth
at Samford Intercollegiate
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior
Anthony Aloi carded rounds of 69 and 77 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for ninth
place and lead the Furman men’s golf team to a ninth-place finish in the
Samford Intercollegiate at the par-72, 7,001-yard Hoover Country Club.
Aloi (+2), who opened play with a 72 on Monday, fired a 3-under
69 in round two before concluding the tournament with a 5-over 77. Freshman Preston Cole (+7) garnered a share
of 23rd place with a 4-over 76 in the final round.
Furman shot a second-round 301 and posted a 306 in the final
round to slip into ninth place after holding third place after 18 holes. Auburn used a final-round 286 to claim first
place, 11 strokes in front of second-place Vanderbilt and 15 strokes ahead of
third-place Georgia Southern.
Vanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart (-5) captured individual medalist
honors by shooting a third-round 73.
Furman returns to action March 11-12, at the Palmetto
Intercollegiate in Aiken, S.C.
Samford ninth at
Samford Intercollegiate
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –
Against one of the most competitive fields in Samford Intercollegiate history,
the Samford University men’s golf team posted a fifth-place finish out of 18
teams Tuesday at the 54-hole, two-day tournament held at Hoover Country Club.
The Bulldogs’ Drew Aimone and Casey O’Toole both registered
top-five finishes in the individual standings and paced Samford to its total
team score of 888 (298-293-297). The Bulldogs concluded the 2013 Samford
Intercollegiate just one stroke behind fourth-place Winthrop.
Aimone turned in his best round of the tournament Tuesday as
he carded a 3-under par 69. His 54-hole score of 213 proved to be tied for
second place in the individual standings.
Vanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart claimed individual medalist
honors by firing a three-round score of 5-under par 211 (70-68-73).
The Bulldogs’ O’Toole closed out the two-day, three-round
competition with a final tally of 1-under par 215. With his performance,
Samford’s native of nearby Oneonta, Ala., garnered sole possession of fourth
place in the individual standings.
On Tuesday, the Bulldogs’ starting lineup was rounded out
with scores from Bill Nabors (78-76-77=231), Mac Hennessy (79-74-79=232) and
William Catanzaro (77-85-78=240).
Samford true freshman Clay Nolen made history Tuesday by
recording his second hole-in-one in consecutive days at the Samford
Intercollegiate. On Monday, the Bulldogs’ highly touted native of Hoover, Ala.,
aced the 181-yard fifth hole. On Tuesday, Nolen furthered his legend by earning
yet another hole-in-one on the 216-yard second hole.
Nolen competed as an individual at the 2013 Samford
Intercollegiate and finished the two-day tournament with a 54-hole score of 229
(75-82-72). Also playing as individuals this week for the Bulldogs were Zach
Hughes (74-73-76=223), Chris Clouser (72-74-79=225) and Gabe Hyde (81-80-75=236).
Auburn finished the three-round competition with a total
team score of 865 (291-288-286) and won the championship title of the Samford
Intercollegiate by 11 strokes over Vanderbilt (876). The top five was rounded
out by Georgia Southern (880), Winthrop (887) and Samford (888).
The Samford University men’s golf team will next be in
action March 11-12, as the Bulldogs head to Auburn, Ala., for the 2013 Auburn
Invitational, which will be held at the Grand National Golf Course.
Western Carolina finishes
tied for seventh at Samford Intercollegiate
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –
Perched in 10th place through 36 holes on Tuesday, Western
Carolina’s men’s golf team fought through sporadic rain showers and weather
delays to post the third-best team round over the final 18 holes, finishing
tied for seventh in the final standings at the Samford Intercollegiate.
The Catamounts carded a final-round 297, advancing three
spots on the team leaderboard at the par-72, 7,001-yard Hoover Country Club.
Tied for 24th entering the final 18 holes, WCU sophomore
J.T. Poston advanced 10 positions over the final round with a 1-over par 73 to
shoot 221. He led the Catamount side in a five-way tie for 14th.
Auburn rallied over the final 18 holes to claim the team
championship, overtaking fellow SEC foe Vanderbilt, which led through 36 holes.
The Tigers shot 286 in the final round, while the Commodores struggled with a
302 as Auburn won by 11 strokes, 865-to-876.
Georgia Southern finished third at 880 with Winthrop (887)
and tourney host Samford (888) rounding out the top five.
Vanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart claimed the individual medalist
honors by two strokes over a two-way tie for the runner-up spot between
Samford’s Drew Aimone and Dominic Bozzelli of Auburn. Stewart carded a 5-under
211 to edge the second-place duo by two strokes, 213.
Only six golfers finished even-par or below out of the
94-golfer field.
Redshirt senior Kyle Wilson finished tied for 28th for WCU,
slipping in the final round with a 6-over 78 to finish at 224 over the 54-hole
event. Wilson, who was tied for 15th after 36 holes, carded 12 birdies in the
event to stand tied for the sixth-most in the tournament.
Rounding out WCU’s scorers were redshirt sophomore Collin
Witiak (228) in a tie for 42nd,
sophomore Matthew Turner one stroke back at 229 in a tie for 45th, and
senior Steven Smith an additional stroke off the pace at 230, tied for 48th in
the final standings.
Western Carolina returns to action at the Palmetto
Intercollegiate, hosted by USC Aiken on March 11-12 at The Palmetto Club in
Aiken, S.C.
College of Charleston
finishes seventh at Charleston Shootout
CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Led by senior John Duke Hudson, who finished tied atop the leaderboard at
even-par, the College of Charleston men's golf team finished seventh at the
Charleston Shootout at the Links at Stono Ferry on Tuesday.
The Cougars shot rounds of 309-293-301=903 and finished at
39-over par as a team. USC Upstate took the team title at 17-over par.
Hudson shot the second-best second round score of the day as
the field had five holes to play from the second round before starting the
final round. Hudson shot a 4-under 68 in the second round and a 2-over 74 in
the third round.
Freshman Josh Lorenzetti rebounded from an opening 77 to
shoot 73-74 in his final two rounds and finished tied for 22nd place at 8-over
par. Junior Alex Ellis shot three rounds of 75 to finish tied for 26th at
9-over par.
The Cougars got excellent play out of their individual
competitors, as well. Senior Neil Gowan was the third-best individual in the tournament as he
shot rounds of 70-75-74 and finished tied for seventh place overall at 3-over.
Junior Parker Allen shot a 2-under 70 on the final day of the tournament and finished
tied for 17th overall.
Freshman Jackson Moore was came in tied for 32nd after
rounds of 73-77-76 and freshman Daniel Kim shot 76 on his final round,
including one of the longest drives of the tournament, a 350-yard drive on the
par-five 15th hole.
Up next, the Cougars travel to Statesboro, Ga., to compete
in The Schenkel, hosted by Georgia Southern on March 15-17 at the Forest
Heights Golf Club.