Ben Feld has done a nice job of mining the Pennsylvania high
school ranks for talent since taking over as the head coach of the Drexel
program.
Some of that talent was on display last weekend as the
Dragons, behind a sparkling 5-under-par 66 in the final round by former Peters
Township standout Connor Schmidt, rallied Sunday to captured the team crown by
five shots in the Dartmouth Invitational at Hanover Country Club in Hanover, N.H.
Drexel got a brilliant 7-under 64 over the 6,472-yard,
par-71 Hanover layout from senior Alex Butler, a junior on St. Joseph’s Prep’s
2014 PIAA Class AAA championship team, in Saturday’s opening round that helped
the Dragons post a 3-under 281 total that left them two shots behind Rhode
Island.
Schmidt, a senior whose opening-round 75 was a throw-out for
Drexel, bounced back in a big way in Sunday’s final round as he led four
Dragons who posted rounds of par or better in an 8-under 276 that left them
with an 11-under 557 total. It is the fifth straight season that Drexel has
posted a tournament victory.
After opening with a 5-under 279, Rhode Island fell back
with a 1-under 283 and shared second place with Bucknell at 6-under 562. The
Bison, behind individual champion Chris Tanabe, a junior who captured the 2016
PIAA Class AA title as a senior at Quaker Valley, carded a solid 5-under 279 in
Sunday’s final round to join Rhode Island at 6-under 562.
Host Dartmouth was two shots behind Rhode Island and
Bucknell in fourth place at 4-under 564. The Big Green added a 3-under 281 to
their opening round of 1-under 283.
Siena was eight shots behind Dartmouth in fifth place at
4-over 572 as the Saints added a 3-over 287 to their opening round of 1-over
285. Host Dartmouth’s Ivy League rival Harvard took sixth place at 6-over 574,
the Big Red adding a 5-over 289 to their opening round of 1-over 285.
Saint Joseph’s was two more shots behind Harvard in seventh
place in the 12-team field at 8-over 576.
The Hawks, after opening with a 2-over 285, finished up with a 7-over
291.
Butler, an East Norriton resident, followed up his
scintillating 64 by matching par in the second round with a 71 as he led the
way for Drexel by finishing in second place in the individual standings at
7-under 135, two shots behind Tanabe.
Schmidt, the 2018 Pennsylvania Amateur champion, led a group
of three Drexel players that landed among the group of players tied for 12th
at 1-under 141.
Junior Stephen Cerbara, the 2015 PIAA Class AAA champion as
a senior at Holy Ghost Prep, and Angelo Giantsopoulos, a junior from Canada,
were the other two Dragons that came in at 1-under. Cerbara added a 2-under 69
to his opening-round 72 and Giantsopoulos finished up with a 1-under 70 after
matching par in the opening round with a 71.
Rounding out the Drexel lineup was freshman David Colleran,
a two-time Central League champion at Radnor who finished among the group tied
for 32nd at 2-over 146. Colleran made the starting lineup right from
the start of his freshman season at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at
Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa earlier this month.
Colleran’s opening round of 3-over 74 was a counter for
Drexel at Dartmouth and he closed with a solid 1-over 72.
Tanabe, an impressive winner of the Pennsylvania Amateur
this summer at Aronimink Golf Club, trailed Butler by four shots after an
opening round of 3-under 68 before closing with a sizzling 6-under 65 that gave
him the individual title with a 9-under 133 total. It was Tanabe’s second
collegiate victory.
Rhode Island’s Chris Francoeur, a junior from Amesbury,
Mass, and Siena’s Jack Brown, a junior from Hudson, N.H., shared third place in
the individual chase at 6-under 136, a shot behind Butler.
Francoeur opened with a 4-under 67 before finishing up with
a 2-under 69. Brown was only two shots behind Butler after an opening round of
5-under 66 before closing with a 1-under 70.
Rhode Island’s Brandon Gillis, a redshirt sophomore from
Nashua, N.H., and Siena’s Jack Tobin, a freshman from Southborough, Mass.,
shared fifth place, each ending up at 4-under 138.
Gillis added a 3-under 68 to his opening-round 70 while
Tobin opened with a 3-under 68 before finishing up with a 70.
Three Ivy League players, host Dartmouth’s Jason Liu, a
junior from Windsor, Conn., Cornell’s Charlie Dubiel, a junior from Juno Beach,
Fla., and Harvard’s Grant Fairbairn, a junior from Orinda, Calif., finished in
a tie for seventh place at 3-under 139.
Liu and Fairbairn both added a 1-under 70 to an
opening-round 69 while Dubiel closed with a 2-under 69 after opening with a 70.
Saint Joseph’s was led Michael O’Brien, a senior from West
Chester, Ohio who finished in a tie for 10th place at 2-under 140.
O’Brien, coming off a tourney title in the Hawks’ season opener at the Cornell
Invitational, matched par in Sunday’s second round with a 71 after opening with
a 69.
Sophomore J.T. Spina, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of
his last two seasons at Pope John Paul II, opened with a solid 2-under 69
before backing off with a 75 that left him among the group tied for 25th
at 2-over 144.
Senior Richard Riva, a former Lancaster Catholic standout,
and junior Wills Montgomery, a Downingtown East product, each landed in the
group tied for 32nd at 4-over 146. Riva carded a pair of 2-over 73s
while Montgomery added a 1-over 72 to his opening-round 74.
Rounding out the starting lineup was Coley Hunter, a
freshman from Rockville, Md. who finished alone in 74th place at 164
after posting a pair of 82s.
Senior Tommy Lewis, a scholastic standout at Central Bucks
East, competed as an individual and made a pretty strong case for a spot in the
starting five as he finished among the group tied for 20th at 1-over
143. Lewis closed with a 3-under 68 after opening with a 75.
Also contributing for Bucknell was senior Peter Bradbeer, a
Friends’ Central product and winner of the 2017 Patterson Cup, a major
championship on the Golf Association of Philadelphia calendar. Bradbeer added a
2-over 73 to his opening-round 71 to finish among the group tied for 25th
at 2-over 144.
Sophomore Brian Isztwan, a Penn Charter product who was the
low amateur in this summer’s Pennsylvania Open at Waynesborough Country Club,
rejoined the Harvard starting lineup after not making the first five in the Big
Red’s season-opening event and finished alone in 67th place at 154.
Isztwan shaved four shots off his opening-round 79 with a final round of 4-over
75.
Brown, which finished 11th with a 597 total, was
led by freshman Luca Jezzeny, who was one of the top players in District One
while starring at Central Bucks West. Jezzeny opened with a 1-under 70 before
posting a 2-over 73 to finish among the group tied for 20th place at
1-over 143.
Sophomore Cole Kemmerer, who helped Episcopal Academy claim
the 2016 Inter-Ac League title as a junior, was also in the starting lineup for
Brown and finished alone in 69th place at 156 after adding a 79 to
his opening-round 77.
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