Cunningham, Nicholas lead Drexel to team crown in Columbia Spring Invitational at Rolling Green

    Drexel seems to be right at home on the classic golf courses you can find all over the Philadelphia area.

   Last fall, head coach Ben Feld’s Dragons won the Wildcat Fall Invitational at Radnor Valley Country Club and the City 6 Championship at Llanerch Country Club.

   Monday, Drexel battled some chilly conditions and the tricky green complexes designed by William Flynn, one of the greats of golf-course design, at Rolling Green Golf Club and emerged with a 10-shot victory over Lafayette in the Columbia Spring Invitational.

   With conference championships on the horizon, the Columbia Spring Invitational offered teams a chance to play a six-score-five format as teams try to figure out which players belong in their first five. It was also an endurance test, 36 holes in a single day.

   Temperatures were barely in the 40s when players teed off in the morning and the combination of the early-spring chill and the challenge presented by Rolling Green, site of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, made for some high scores.

   Drexel, behind Jeffrey Cunningham, a senior from West Palm Beach, Fla. who finished among a trio of players tied for fifth place, and Drue Nicholas, a sophomore from Egg Harbor Township, N.J. who finished in a tie for eighth, posted the best score of the morning round with a 14-over-par 364 over the 6,760-yard, par-70 Rolling Green layout.

   The Dragons, out of the Colonial Athletic Association, were a little better in the afternoon with a 10-over 360, still the best score turned in for the second round, for a 24-over 724 total.

   Lafayette, out of the Patriot League, was four shots behind Drexel after opening with an 18-over 368. The Leopards added a 16-over 366 in the afternoon to earn runnerup honors with a 34-over 734 total.

   Host Columbia, out of the Ivy League, matched Lafayette’s 16-over 366 in the afternoon after opening with a 369 as the Lions finished a shot behind Lafayette in third place with a 35-over 735 total.

   It was three more shots back to Villanova, out of the Big East, and Bryant, a Northeast Conference representative, as the two teams shared fourth place, each landing on 38-over 738.

   The Wildcats, led by Matthew Copeland, a graduate student from Maryville, Tenn. who finished among a trio of players tied for second place in the individual standings, posted team scores of 369 in both the morning and afternoon. The Bulldogs, behind Nick Piersall, a graduate student from Portland, Conn. who was also in that trio tied for second place, shaved four shots off their opening-round 371 with a 367 in the afternoon.

   Iona, behind individual champion Justin Burkhamer, a graduate student from Charlotte, N.C., finished four shots behind Villanova and Bryant in sixth place with a 742 total. The Gaels, out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, added a 368 in the afternoon to their opening-round 374.

   Burkhamer was the only player in the field to finish under par over the tough Rolling Green layout. He offset five bogeys with five birdies while matching par in the opening round with a 70. An eagle at the par-5 seventh hole helped him register a 1-under 69 in the afternoon for a 1-under 139 total.

   Lehigh, out of the Patriot League, finished two shots behind Iona in seventh place with a 744 total as the Mountain Hawks bounced back from an opening-round 380 with a 364 in the afternoon.

   Monmouth, an MEEC rival of Iona, was 10 shots behind Lehigh in eighth place with a 754 total as the Hawks added a 378 to their opening-round 376.

   A third City 6 team, Saint Joseph’s, out of the Atlantic 10, was six shots behind Monmouth in ninth place in the 12-team field with a 760 total. St. Joe’s improved by 16 shots from an opening-round 388 with a 372 in the afternoon.

   Cunningham was one of just two players to better par in the morning as he had four birdies in a 1-under 69. He added a 73 in the afternoon and was one of three players tied for fifth place with a 2-over 142 total that led the way for Drexel.

   Nicholas, a St. Augustine Prep product, struggled in the morning with a 76, but bounced back with a 3-under 67 that was the second-lowest round of the day in the afternoon to finish in a tie for eighth place with a 3-over 143 total.

   Nicholas, who has been really solid all season for Drexel, had seven birdies on his scorecard in the afternoon, including 2s on three of Rolling Green’s five par-3s, the third, sixth and 16^th holes.

   Mitchell Griffin, a sophomore from New Albany, Ohio, backed up the top two for Drexel as he matched par in the opening round with a 70 and added a 77 in the afternoon to finish among the group tied for 17^th place with a 7-over 147 total.

   Angelo Giantsopoulos, Drexel’s veteran senior from Canada, and Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa, a freshman from Zimbabwe, both landed in the group tied for 24^th place at 9-over 149.

   Giantsopoulos, a co-medalist in last fall’s City 6 Championship at Llanerch, bounced back from an opening-round 79 by matching par in the afternoon with a 70. Nyamukondiwa added a 4-over 74 to his opening-round 75.

   Brockton English, a freshman from Shelby Township, Mich., rounded out Drexel’s six-man lineup as he finished in a tie for 29^th place with a 150 total. English added a 76 to his opening round of 4-over 74 as all six players in the Drexel lineup finished inside the top 30.

   Sophomore Andrew Wallace, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a scholastic standout at Harriton, competed as an individual for Drexel and finished in the group tied for 65^th place with a 159 total after adding a 78 in the afternoon to his opening-round 81.

   Villanova’s Copeland matched par in the opening round with a 70 and then added a 1-over 71 in the afternoon to get a share of second place with Bryant’s Piersall and Columbia’s Nathan Han, a sophomore from Somers, N.Y., with a 1-over 141 total, two shots behind Burkhamer, the champion.

   Piersall carded a solid 1-under 69 in the afternoon after opening with a 2-over 72. After opening with a 75, Han matched the low round of the day with a sparkling 4-under 66, in the afternoon that included six birdies, three of them on Rolling Green’s par-5s, the seventh, ninth and 17^th holes.

   Joining Drexel’s Cunningham in the trio tied for fifth place at 2-over 142 were Villanova’s Noah Peck, a senior from Hunt Valley, Md., and Lehigh’s Edmund Broderick, a sophomore from Bayonne, N.J.

   Peck, who was the runnerup in what was called the Rolling Green Intercollegiate a year ago with Navy playing the host, carded a pair of 1-over 71s. After struggling to a 76 in the opening round, Broderick matched the low round of the day with a 4-under 66 that enabled him to get a share of fifth place. Starting off the back nine, Broderick made a bogey at the 10^th hole and then proceeded to birdie five of the next seven holes before rattling off 10 straight pars to finish his round.

   Joining Drexel’s Nicholas in a tie for eighth place at 3-over 143 was Lafayette’s Ray Dennehy, a freshman from Princeton, Mass. who matched par in the afternoon with a 70 after opening with a 73.

   Rounding out the top 10 were Monmouth’s Erik Stevens, a junior from Annandale, N.J., and Fordham’s P.J. O’Rourke, a junior from Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., both of whom were tied for ninth place at 4-over 144. Stevens added a 1-over 71 in the afternoon to his opening-round 73. O’Rourke opened with a 1-over 71 before adding a 73 in the afternoon.

   Villanova got a solid showing from senior Matt Davis, who was one of the Inter-Ac League’s top players during an outstanding scholastic career at Malvern Prep. Davis backed up Copeland and Peck for the Wildcats as he added a 1-over 71 in the afternoon to his opening-round 75 to finish in the group tied for 14^th place with a 6-over 146 total.

   Peter Weaver, a sophomore from Frontenac, Mo., added a 77 to his opening-round 75 to end up in the group tied for 40^th place with a 12-over 152 total. Weaver was coming off an individual victory in last week’s Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club’s Gold Course in Williamsburg, Va.

   Vimal Alokam, a freshman from Ypsilanti, Mich., added a 79 to his opening-round 78 to finish among the group tied for 57^th place with a 157 total. Rounding out the Villanova lineup was Matt Minerva, a junior from Elmsford, N.Y. who added an 80 to his opening-round 79 to end up in the group tied for 65^th place with a 159 total.

   Saint Joseph’s got a second straight strong showing from senior J.T. Spina, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Pope John Paul II. After opening with a 77, Spina, who finished in a tie for sixth place in last week’s Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate, put together a solid 2-under 68 in the afternoon at Rolling Green to finish in a tie for 12^th place with a 5-over 145 total.

   Graduate student Wills Montgomery, who starred scholastically at Downingtown East, added a 3-over 73 to his opening-round 75 to finish in a tie for 22^nd place with an 8-over 148 total.

   Sophomore Kevin Smith, who led Strath Haven to the District One Class AAA team crown in 2019, added a 5-over 75 to his opening-round 79 to finish in the group tied for 48^th place with a 154 total. James Gorman, a sophomore from Greenville, S.C., added a 6-over 76 to his opening-round 79 to land in the group tied for 52^nd place with a 155 total.

   Rounding out the St. Joe’s lineup were sophomore Steve Lorenzo, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior in 2018 with Catholic League power La Salle, and Jake Avery, a junior from Avon, Conn., both of whom finished in a tie for 70^th place with a 160 total. Lorenzo carded a pair of 80s while Avery added an 82 in the afternoon after opening with a 78.

   Coley Hunter, a junior from Rockville, Md., competed as an individual for Saint Joseph’s and finished among the group tied for 61^st place with a 158 total. After opening with a 78, Hunter added an 80 in the afternoon.

   Lafayette senior Ryan Tall, who starred scholastically at Conestoga and was the winner of the 2018 GAP Junior Boys’ Championship, contributed to the Leopards’ runnerup finish as he landed in the group tied for 40^th place with a 12-over 152 total. Tall added  a 77 in the afternoon to his opening round of 5-over 75.

   Rob Robinson, a scholastic standout at North Penn and a contender in a bunch of Golf Association of Philadelphia junior events, returned to Monmouth for a fifth year, taking advantage of the NCAA’s offer of an extra year of eligibility to make up for the spring of 2020 lost to the coronavirus pandemic. Robinson added a 78 to his opening-round 81 to finish among the group tied for 65^th place.