Meronk leads, ETSU second at Wolfpack Intercollegiate
RALEIGH, N.C. – The 35th-ranked ETSU men’s golf team put itself in position to defend its title on day one of the Wolfpack Intercollegiate.
The Bucs, who won last year’s tournament by 11 strokes over UNCG, sit in second place at 1-over-par 569 after the first two rounds, which were completed on Monday at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course. After recording a team score of 6-over 290 in the morning, ETSU posted a strong run in the afternoon as the Blue and Gold fired a 5-under 279, placing them three shots behind tournament host and leader NC State heading into Tuesday’s final round.
The Wolfpack strung together consecutive rounds of 1-under-par 283 to end the day at 2-under 566.
As the Bucs sit in second place in the team standings, junior Adrian Meronk holds a one-shot lead on the individual leaderboard. Meronk, who already has one tournament win this fall, fired 4-under-par 138 (70-68) on Monday. The 33rd-ranked golfer totaled eight birdies on the day, while he took the outright lead following his final birdie on the par-4, 482-yard 18th to cap off a successful showing after 36 holes of play. In the end, Meronk played the final 11 holes of the second round at 4-under-par.
Meanwhile, senior Rhys Pugh and junior Chris Hickman also posted top-12 finishes on Monday.
Pugh – who held the individual lead midway through the second round – finished the day in five-way tie for seventh at 1-under 141 (71-70). After recording one birdie and one bogey in the opening round, Pugh got off to a blazing start in round two as he eagled the par-5, 578-yard No. 1 and moved to 3-under after carding a birdie on No. 4. From there, Pugh posted consecutive bogeys on the next two holes, but the Welshman regrouped with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 en route to recording a 3-under on the front nine. However, Pugh bogeyed the first two holes on the back nine, resulting in his 70. Overall, Pugh was one of four golfers to pencil an eagle on his scorecard on Monday.
Hickman made a move in the second round as he jumped 19 spots up the leaderboard and is tied for 12th even-par 142 (74-68). The Centreville, Md., native totaled nine birdies on day one, while six came in the second round. Hickman’s nine birdies tied for the third-most by any golfer in the tournament.
Sophomore Mateusz Gradecki is tied for 42nd, while senior Tom Heggarty bounced back with a 73 after finishing with an 82 in the first round. Freshman Cayman Ratliff led all individual golfers as he's tied for 33rd. Ratliff fired his lowest collegiate round by posting a 71 in the afternoon.
Tuesday’s final round begins at 8 a.m., while the Bucs tee off at 9:40. ETSU is paired with NC State and East Carolina.
UNCG fourth at Wolfpack Intercollegiate
RALEIGH, N.C. – UNCG senior men’s golfer Roy Dixon is tied for fifth overall and the Spartans sit in fourth in the team standings after 36 holes of the annual Wolfpack Intercollegiate on Monday hosted at the 7,307-yard Lonnie Poole Golf Club by NC State.
The teams will play the third and final round Tuesday with tee times between 8:50-9:30 a.m. off of hole No. 1.
Dixon is tied for fifth place and just two strokes out of the lead on the par-71 course. He posted a 2-under-par 140 Monday with an opening round of 1-over-par 72 before carding his lowest round of the young season with a 3-under-par 68. He opened with three birdies and four bogeys in round one before turning in a strong round two with three birdies and 15 par scores for the clean round.
The Spartans as a team are in fourth place with a 9-over-par 577 as they opened with a 293 before carding a 284 in round two. UNCG trails 36-hole leader and host NC State at 2-under-par 566 (283-283), fellow Southern Conference foe ETSU at 1-over-par 569 (290-279) and East Carolina at 7-over-par 575 (287-288). Adrian Meronk of ETSU holds the individual lead with a 4-under-par 138 (70-68).
Junior Taylor Coalson and sophomore Carter Jenkins are tied for 18th place, just six shots off the lead heading into the final round at 2-over-par 144. Coalson opened with a 4-over-par 75 in round one as he only had two birdies but regrouped with a 2-under-par 69 in round two, carding five birdies, three bogeys and 10 par scores in the second round.
Jenkins also posted a 2-over-par 144 as he notched back-to-back rounds of 1-over-par 72. He was consistent in round one with 17 par scores and just one bogey. Round two was more adventurous with three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey to go along with 12 par scores.
Sophomore Jake McGlone is tied for 37th place overall with a 7-over par 149 (74-75).
Freshman Josh Stockwell rounds out the Spartans’ lineup with a 158 (77-81), while junior Luke Haithcock has a 162 (80-82) playing as an individual.
Joining the Spartans in the field includes host NC State (two teams), Rhode Island, East Carolina, Boston College, Seton Hall, Bowling Green, Campbell, Loyola (Md.), Wofford, Georgia Southern, Temple, George Washington, ETSU, Lipscomb, Western Carolina and USC Upstate.
Western Carolina 17th at Wolfpack Intercollegiate
RALEIGH, N.C. – Through two of the three scheduled rounds, the Western Carolina men’s golf team stands tied for 17th overall at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, carding rounds of 301 and 306 for a 36-hole score of 607 at the par-71, 7,307-yard Lonnie Poole Golf Course. WCU stood tied for 14th as a team after the first 18 holes.
Paired with golfers from Boston College and USC Upstate, WCU’s scoring five tee off on the back nine between 8 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
WCU is led by senior J.T. Poston, who hovered around the top of the leader board most of the day before settling into a tie for 15th through 36 holes at 1-over-par 143.
Opening both rounds on the par-4 16th, the Hickory, N.C., product put himself into contention over this first 18 holes, carding four consecutive birdies between the ninth through 12th holes to move from 1-over to 3-under in his first round. Poston’s 2-under-par 71 left him tied for the tournament lead after the first round.
Poston played the first nine holes of his second round at even par, birdieing the par-3 second before scoring bogey on the par-3 sixth. He stood at even-par through 15 holes and was poised for an even-par second round. However, he finished his second 18 holes with a double-bogey on the par-4 13th and a bogey on his 36th hole of the day, the par-5 15th to shoot 3-over-par 74.
All told, Poston carded 26 pars on the opening day, tied for the sixth-most among the field.
Freshman Bright Julamool carded rounds of 3-over-par 74 and 8-over-par 79 to stand tied for 63rd overall with a two-round score of 153. Julamool had four birdies against seven bogeys in the first round with just one birdie in the second with seven holes of bogey or orse. The Bangkok, Thailand, native was amidst an 11-way tie for 31st overall after the first round.
In his season debut, sophomore Nont Panayanggool and senior Braydon Obremski are tied for 77th overall at 156, with freshman Jackson Bishop rounding out the Catamount scoring five with consecutive rounds of 80 for a 36-hole score of 160, tied for 86th overall.
Panayanggool managed three birdies in his second round 75 after shooting 81 in the morning, advancing six positions in the second round. Obremski posted consecutive rounds of 7-over-par 78 and was tied for 67th individually after the first round, while Bishop had four birdies and 15 pars in an otherwise busy two rounds.