Fricke leads Drexel to victory in Quechee Club Collegiate Challenge

   Drexel senior Aaron Fricke was showing up all over the place this summer.

   The Garden Spot product, who plays out of Lancaster Country Club, reached the second round of match play in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur, dropping a tough 1-up decision to eventual finalist Grant Skylass. He finished tied for eighth in the Pennsylvania Amateur at White Manor Country Club.

   He was playing solid golf, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise to see Fricke fire a 5-under-par 67 at the Quechee Club’s Highland Course in Quechee, Vt. Sunday to claim the individual title in the Quechee Club Collegiate Challenge and lead the Dragons to the team title with a team-record final-round performance.

   Fricke had opened with a 3-over 75 over the 6,840-yard, par-72 Highland Course layout in Saturday’s opening round before his final-round surge enabled him to catch Princeton’s Evan Quinn, a sophomore from Morristown, N.J. who had a pair of 71s, at 2-under 142. Fricke then birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to capture the title.

   Fricke’s sizzling final round was matched by teammate Angelo Giantsopoulos, a freshman from Canada, as Drexel ripped off a 12-under 276, a single-round school record, to edge Princeton by a shot for the team title.

   The Dragons had opened with a 6-over 294, but the stunning 276 gave them a 6-under 570 total in the 36-hole event. Princeton opened with a 1-over 289 and added a 6-under 282 in Sunday’s final round for a solid 5-under 571 total that left the Tigers a shot behind Drexel in second.

   Reigning Ivy League champion Harvard was 15 shots behind Princeton in third at 10-over 586 after a final-round 301. Cornell had a final-round 302 to finish a shot behind Harvard in fourth at 11-over 587. Harvard and Cornell had shared the lead after the opening round, each carding a 3-under 285.

Central Connecticut was another shot behind Cornell in fifth at 12-over 588 after a final-round 298. Bucknell finished sixth at 19-over 595 after a final-round 302.

   It was a disappointing trip to Vermont for Temple, which ended up 10^th in the 14-team field with rounds of 300 and 304 for a 604 total. The Owls were coming off a team title in the Cornell Invitational, but couldn’t back it up at the Quechee Club as they finished behind three teams they beat at Cornell, including Drexel.

   But take nothing away from Drexel as the Dragons just went out and won this one. Coach Ben Feld sent three freshmen to the Quechee Club and watched them come of age.

   Giantsopoulos, who reached the second round of match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan. this summer, opened with a 76 on the Highland Course, but his second-round 67 left him tied for third at 1-under 143, just a shot behind Fricke and Quinn.

   Another freshman, Ethan Mangum of Atlanta, had a pair of solid even-par 72s to finish tied for seventh at 144. The third freshman, Jeffrey Cunningham of West Palm Beach, Fla.,  struggled a little in the final round  with a 76, but his 1-under 71 was Drexel’s best score in the first round. His 3-over 147 total left him tied for 15^th.

   Adam Mistretta, a senior from Livermore, Calif., joined Cunningham at that figure as he contributed a  2-under 70 to Drexel’s record final round after opening up with a 77.

   Three players joined Drexel’s Giantsopoulos in the group tied for third at 1-under 143, led by Princeton sophomore Vinay Ramesh, the 2014 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Pennsbury. Ramesh fired a 3-under 69 in the final round after opening up with a 74.

   Also at 1-under 143 was Central Connecticut senior Anthony Sebastianelli, who starred scholastically at Abington Heights, and Harvard’s Greg Royston, a senior from South Africa. Sebastianelli added an even-par 72 to his opening-round 71 while Royston opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the second round.

   Princeton also got a nice showing from senior Michael Davis, the former Malvern Prep standout and runnerup in the 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur. Davis added an even-par 72 to his opening-round 73 to finish tied for 11^th at 1-over 145.

   Bucknell’s Peter Bradbeer, who capped his summer with a victory in the Patterson Cup, a Golf Association of Philadelphia  major championship, at Wilmington Country Club’s South Course, finished tied for 27^th at 5-over 149. Bradbeer, a sophomore, finished up with a 1-over 73 after opening with a 76.

   Temple was led by Trey Wren, a junior from Suffolk, Va. who added a 76 to his opening-round 73 to finish tied for 27^th at 5-over 149. Freshman Dawson Anders, the Souderton product who claimed GAP’s Junior Boys’ Championship this summer, carded a solid 2-over 74 in the second round after opening with a 76 to finish tied for 31^st at 150.

   Junior Gary McCabe, the former La Salle standout, finished tied for 47^th at 153 after a final-round 78. Sophomore Marty McGuckin, the former Malvern Prep standout, barged his way into the lineup by finishing tied for 10^th at Cornell while competing as an individual. He finished tied for 52nd at 154 after a final-round 76.

   Redshirt junior John Barone of Dunmore, a rock-solid runnerup at Cornell, finished tied for 57^th at 155 after a final-round 79.

   Junior Sam Soeth, who starred scholastically at Marple Newtown, had a decent showing while competing as an individual. He added a 2-over 74 to an opening-round 76 to join Anders in the group tied for 31^st at 150.

   Also competing as an individual was freshman Liam McGrath, an Academy of the New Church product. He finished tied for 47^th at 153, struggling to a final-round 80 after opening with a  solid 1-over 73.