A young Virginia Commonwealth team fought off a charge from
defending champion Davidson to win its first Atlantic 10 title since 2016
Sunday at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.
The Rams, 167th in the latest Golfstat rankings, will be representing
the A-10 in an NCAA regional after they fired a 7-under-par 281, the low team
round of the weekend, in Sunday’s final round over the 7,024-yard, par-72 Grand
Cypress layout to finish with a 3-over 867 total.
Davidson, at No. 78 the highest-ranked team in the field,
closed with a 6-under 282 to come up two shots short of VCU with a 5-over 869
total.
VCU’s opening-round 298 Friday left it a shot behind
Davidson, which grabbed the lead with a 9-over 297. The Rams matched par in Saturday’s
second round with a 288 to inch in front of Davidson, which carded a solid
2-over 290, by a shot heading into Sunday’s final round.
George Washington, behind a 1-2 finish by A-10 individual
champion Logan Lowe, a senior from Grass Valley, Calif., and Adrian Castagnola,
a junior from The Woodlands, Texas, finished eight shots behind Davidson in
third place at 13-over 877 after a final round of 1-under 287.
Saint Joseph’s, behind a tie for fifth from Michael O’Brien,
a junior from West Chester, Ohio, finished nine shots behind George Washington
in fourth place at 22-over 886, the best A-10 finish by the Hawks since they
were the runnerup in 2003. After opening with a 298, Saint Joseph’s posted a
pair of 6-over 294s.
Richmond bounced back from a tough start, a 317 in the
opening round, by bettering par with rounds of 3-under 285 and 2-under 286 to
finish two shots behind Saint Joseph’s in fifth place at 24-over 888. Dayton
was two shots behind the Spiders in sixth place at 26-over 890 after a final round
of 5-over 293.
La Salle had its best round of the weekend in Sunday’s final
round, a 15-over 303, to finish 10th in the 11-team field with a
60-over 924 total.
George Washington’s Castagnola actually finished tied for
second with VCU’s top finisher, Ian Peng, a freshman from Taiwan who carded a
3-under 69 to share second with Castagnola at 5-under 211, a shot behind Lowe.
After opening with a 2-over 74, Peng fired a 4-under 68 before his closing 69.
Another freshman, Adrian Vagberg of Sweden, matched Peng’s
final-round 69 to get a share of fifth with St. Joe’s O’Brien.
The best round of Sunday’s final round for VCU belonged to
Kristian Tannum Donaldson, a sophomore from England who fired a 4-under 68 to
finish alone in ninth place at 1-under 215.
Rounding out the VCU lineup were Sachin Kumar, a sophomore
from Trinidad & Tobago, and Alston Newson, a junior from Chesapeake, Va.,
both of whom finished among the group tied for 33rd at 230. Kumar
and Newson, the veteran of the lineup, each closed with a 3-over 75.
GW’s Lowe opened with a 2-over 74 on a day when Grand
Cypress was clearly at its toughest. He followed that up with a 4-under 68 in
both Saturday’s second round and in Sunday’s final round to claim the
individual title with a 6-under 210 total.
Castagnola had the best round of the weekend in Sunday’s
final round, a 5-under 67, to get his share of second with VCU’s Peng at
5-under 211.
Davidson’s Hoke Carlton, a senior from Charlotte, N.C.,
matched Lowe’s performance with 68s Saturday and Sunday after opening with a 76
as he finished alone in fourth place at 4-under 212.
It was a really nice showing for Saint Joseph’s O’Brien as
he opened with a 1-over 73 before adding a pair of 2-under 70s to share fifth
place with VCU’s Vagberg at 3-under 213.
Davidson’s Jack Lang, a senior from Lexington, Mass., took a
one-shot lead in the individual standings into the final round after adding a
1-under 71 to his opening-round 68. But he backed off with a final-round 75 to
share seventh place with George Mason’s Connor Messick, a graduate student from
Oak Hill, Va., at 2-under 214.
Messick sandwiched a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round
with a pair of even-par 72s.
St. Joe’s got solid showings from a couple of its young
players behind O’Brien. Sophomore Wills Montgomery, who starred scholastically
at Downingtown East, closed with an even-par 72 to sneak into the top 10 as he
finished in the group tied for 10th at 4-over 220. Montgomery opened
with a 1-under 71 before falling back a little with a 5-over 77 in Saturday’s
second round.
J.T. Spina, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of his last
two seasons at Pope John Paul II, capped a really strong freshman season by
finishing in the group tied for 17th at 5-over 221. Spina had the
low round of the weekend for a St. Joe’s player as he fired a 3-under 69 in
Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 3-over 75.
In his final appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship,
senior Ross Pilliod, a Berks Catholic product, sandwiched an 80 in second round
with a pair of 77s to finish in the group tied for 41st at 234.
Rounding out the St. Joe’s lineup was junior Richard Riva, a
former Lancaster Catholic standout who finished alone in 47th at 237
after a final-round 77.
It was a nice finish to the season for the Hawks as Pilliod
earned the individual title and led them to the team crown in the Columbia
Spring Invitational and Pilliod and O’Brien finished in the group tied for
sixth to lead them to a fourth-place finish in the Navy Spring Invitational the
weekend before their fourth-place finish in the A-10 Championship.
Ron Fischang, a sophomore from McKinney, Texas, led the way
for La Salle as he sandwiched an 81 in Saturday’s second round with a pair of
76s for a 233 total that left him in the group tied for 39th.
Sophomore David Kim, who starred scholastically at Upper
Dublin, freshman Parker Wine, a Unionville product, and Dragon Theam, a
freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., all landed in the group tied for 41st
at 234.
Kim added a final-round 76 to a pair of 79s, Wine struggled
with 80s in the first and final rounds, but flashed his talent with an even-par
72 in Saturday’s second round and Theam added a pair of 79s to his
opening-round 76.
Rounding out the La Salle lineup was Matt Werner, a freshman
from West Linn, Ore. who showed the kind of ability he possesses when he
matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish alone in 48th
place at 239.
Finishing a shot behind Werner in 49th place at
240 was Fordham senior Josh Madarang, who starred scholastically at Downingtown
East. Madarang improved 10 shots from an opening-round 85 with a 3-over 75 in
Saturday’s second round before finishing up with an 80 in Sunday’s final round.
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