ETSU finishes 12th at U.S. Collegiate Championship
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – ETSU’s Adrian Meronk led the ETSU men’s golf team at the U.S. Collegiate Championship, as the Buccaneer senior finished tied for eighth at 4-under-par 212 (72-70-70) on Sunday afternoon from The Golf Club of Georgia – Lakeside Course.
Meronk, who was coming off a win at last weekend’s Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, finished strong in the final round, as he birdied five of his last 10 holes en route to moving into the top 10 following his second straight round of 2-under 70. For the tournament, the Wroclaw, Poland, native totaled 12 birdies, marking the fourth-most by an individual in the 90-player field. In addition, teammate Gudmundur Kristjansson – who paced the Blue and Gold in the first two rounds – also recorded 12 birdies on the weekend.
After moving into fourth place by firing the lowest score in round two, the Bucs couldn’t maintain momentum, as ETSU shot a 19-over 307 on Sunday and finished in 12th place at 18-over-par 882 (293-282-307). Despite dropping down the leaderboard, the Blue and Gold finished above No. 2 Oklahoma State (21-over-par 885), No. 22 UCLA (24-over-par 888) and No. 43 Iowa (44-over-par 908).
Auburn, the top-ranked team in the country, and No. 3 Wake Forest earned a share of the team title as they both finished 9-under-par 855. The Tigers entered the day one shot back of the Demon Deacons and Auburn registered a 3-under-par 285, thanks to a birdie from Michael Johnson on No. 18 to pull even with Wake Forest.
Individually, there was a four-way tie for first at 6-under-par 210. Stanford’s Maverick McNealy – the No. 1 ranked player via Golfstat – Virginia’s Derek Bard, Wake Forest’s Cameron Young and Auburn’s Will Long all earned co-medalist honors. Long began the round atop the leaderboard but finished the day at 2-over 74, while McNealy made the biggest leap after firing a 5-under 67 to pull even with the leaders. Meanwhile, Young posted a 1-over 73 on Sunday and Bard ended the round at even-par 72.
After playing the first two rounds at 5-under, Kristjansson recorded a 6-over 78 on Sunday and tied for 22nd at 1-over-par 217 (71-68-78). Junior Mateusz Gradecki tied for 69th, while Conor Rodrigues and Geuntae Kim finished tied for 82nd.
The entire 17-team field was ranked in the top 70 by either Golfweek or Golfstat, including seven in the top 10. In addition, 11 golfers entered the weekend ranked in the top 25 of the national polls.
The Bucs wrap up their fall season in two weeks when ETSU travels to Hawaii for the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational. The three-day tournament begins Monday, Nov. 2.