Meronk wins Wolfpack Intercollegiate, ETSU finishes second
RALEIGH, N.C. – Junior Adrian Meronk earned medalist honors and the 30th-ranked ETSU men’s golf team finished second as the final round of the Wolfpack Intercollegiate concluded on Tuesday at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
Meronk, who claimed his second individual title this season, tied with NC State’s David Cooke at 5-under-par 208. Meronk, the 25th-ranked golfer in the Golfweek rankings, entered the day with a one-shot lead over the 93-man field, but Cooke made a charge in the final round as the Wolfpack junior fired a 4-under 67 to earn a share of the championship.
Meronk held the outright lead for the majority of the final round, but the Polish standout bogeyed the par-3, 194-yard 14th, opening the door for Cooke to move into a first place on the leaderboard. Cooke returned the favor with a bogey of his own on the par-4 16th, while Meronk moved back into sole possession of first following a birdie on the par-3 17th. Meronk used a pitching wedge to place the ball one foot from the hole on 17, marking in his 12th birdie of the tournament.
With the Buccaneer junior taking a one-shot lead into the final hole and Cooke watching from the clubhouse, Meronk bogeyed the final hole, resulting in a tie for the championship. Meronk had a 5-foot par putt on 18, but it went long and ended up with the bogey. For the tournament, Meronk led the field in par-4 scoring with a 3.85 average, while he also totaled 12 birdies which tied for fourth overall.
As Meronk was battling it out with Cooke on the individual leaderboard, the Bucs couldn’t overcome their three-shot deficit as NC State won its own tournament by nine strokes over the Blue and Gold, 846 to 855. ETSU posted a 2-over-par 286 on Tuesday to finish the 54-hole tournament at 3-over 855, but the Wolfpack pulled away after recording a 4-under 280 in the final round and ended at 6-under 846.
Junior Chris Hickman gave the Bucs a strong push in the final round as the Buccaneer carded a 4-under 67 and tied for third at 4-under-par 209 (74-68-67). Hickman, who was one-over through 12, turned things on late as he posted three straight birdies from Nos. 13-15, while registering an eagle on the par-4, 405-yard 16th to get to 4-under. The 67 marked Hickman’s lowest round of his collegiate career, while his 13 birdies on the weekend tied for the second among the tournament field.
Rhys Pugh ended the tournament with a 3-over 74 and tied for 11th at 2-over-par 215 (71-70-74), while sophomore Mateusz Gradecki tied for 46th. Senior Tom Heggarty, who was playing in his first tournament of the season, tied for 69th and freshman Cayman Ratliff tied for 46th. Ratliff was playing as an individual.
The Bucs now return home to host the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, which begins Friday morning at the Blackthorn Club.
UNCG ties for fourth at Wolfpack Intercollegiate
RALEIGH, N.C. – UNCG junior men’s golfer Taylor Coalson finished 10th overall at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate to lead the Spartans to a fourth-place team finish Tuesday at the 7,307-yard Lonnie Poole Golf Club hosted by NC State. The Spartans placed three in the top 25 for the second straight tournament this season after accomplishing the feat last week at the VCU Shootout.
Coalson finished the 54-hole event at 1-over par 214 to finish in sole possession of 10th place. He opened the event with a 4-over par 75 in round one before coming back to consecutive under-par scores of 2-under-par 69 in round two and 1-under-par 70 in the final round Tuesday. The 10th-place finish is his best finish of the year and best since placing seventh at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate last year.
As a team, the Spartans posted their second top-five finish of the season and have finished in the top six in all three events this year. UNCG ended the event tied for fourth overall with a 16-over-par 868 (293-284-291), tied with former league rival Georgia Southern. Host NC State won the team portion of the event going away at 6-under-par 846 (283-283-280).
Senior Roy Dixon was the Spartans’ second finisher, tied for 15th overall with a 3-over-par 216. He opened the event with a 1-over-par 72 before carding the Spartans’ lowest round of the week at 3-under-par 68 in round two. He capped his week with a 5-over-par round of 76 Tuesday.
Sophomore Carter Jenkins rounded out the Spartans in the top 25 as he finished in 21st place. Jenkins, who won the Wolfpack Intercollegiate last year, finished 4-over par 217 as he was consistent all week with scores of 72-72-73.
Sophomore Jake McGlone added a 31st-place finish with an 8-over-par 221. McGlone had his best round of the week Tuesday with a 1-over-par 72, following up his first two round scores of 74 and 75. Freshman Josh Stockwell finished with a 22-over-par 235 (77-81-77) while junior Luke Haithcock added a 25-over-par 238 (80-82-76) as an individual.
The Spartans return to action Oct. 13-14 as they head to Georgia for the annual Auto Trader Collegiate at the Berkeley Hill Country Club.
Wofford finishes 15th at Wolfpack Intercollegiate
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Wofford men’s golf team wrapped up the Wolfpack Intercollegiate with a 15th-place finish on Tuesday, contested at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course of NC State.
Jeremy Grab led the Terriers with a 54-hole total of 5-over-par 218. The sophomore from Charleston, South Carolina, carded a pair of 2-over-par 73s around a 1-over-par 72, draining nine birdies in three rounds. He earned a tie for 22nd place in the 93-player field.
The Terriers completed the tournament at 45-over-par 897. Wofford’s best round was the second, putting together an 8-over-par 292 with the help of a 4-under-par 67 from sophomore Andrew Novak, who tied for 60th at 15-over 228.
Other Terriers competing in the 18-team field included senior Brannan Hudson, who finished in the top half of the field in 36th at 10-over 223. Freshman Evan Grenus tied for 74th (+20) and freshmen Will Sawyer earned 88th (+29) in his collegiate debut.
The Wofford men’s golf team heads to the Donald Ross Intercollegiate in Morganton, North Carolina, next Monday and Tuesday. The Terriers will be looking to defend their team title from last fall.
Western Carolina finishes 17th at Wolfpack Intercollegiate
RALEIGH, N.C. – Senior J.T. Poston finished off the Wolfpack Intercollegiate with 1-under-par round of 70 on Tuesday to record his second top-10 finish of the season, leading Western Carolina in an eighth-place tie at the par-71, 7,307-yard Lonnie Poole Golf Course. The Catamounts finished 17th overall, carding their best round of the 54-hole tournament on Tuesday with a 299 for a three-round score of 906.
Opening on the back nine, Poston carded four birdies with two bogeys on his first nine holes to make the turn at 2-under par for the final round. The only blemish on an otherwise even-par front nine was a bogey on the par-3 sixth to move him back to 1-under-par for the day, finishing with a 70. It was the second time in as many days that Poston had shot bogey on No. 6.
Poston charted rounds of 69, 74 and 70 for a three-round tally of 213. Overall, he finished with a team-best nine birdies at the three-round event – seven coming on the back nine of the course.
Freshman Bright Julamool slipped six spots in the final standings to come home tied for 69th overall, shooting 6-over 77 on Tuesday. His one birdie came on his final hole of the event on the par-4 ninth – a hole he had bogeyed in both of the first two rounds. Julamool was poised to make the turn at 3-over-par until a triple-bogey on the par-4 18th left him at 6-over at the turn. He shot 230 for the tournament.
Julamool’s countryman, sophomore Nont Panyanggool, advanced six spots in the final rankings to place in a tie for 71st overall. Panyanggool matched his second-round score of 4-over-par 75 on Tuesday to finish a stroke back of Julamool at 231 in his first competitive action this fall.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five were senior Braydon Obremski, up three spots into a tie for 74th overall (233) and freshman Jackson Bishop in 90th (244). Obremski, who ranked among the tournament leaders with 35 pars over his 56-hole tournament, carded his best round of the fall with a 6-over-par 77 on Tuesday.
Western Carolina returns to action Oct. 20-21 at the Pinetree Intercollegiate, a 54-hole tournament hosted by Kennesaw State at the Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Ga. WCU then wraps up the fall portion of its schedule by hosting the Hummingbird Intercollegiate at the beautiful Country Club of Sapphire Valley with the practice round on Oct. 31 and two-round event on Nov. 1-2.