Vuradi, Homer help Delaware finish fourth in Georgetown Intercollegiate at Echo Lake

 

   With top-10 individual finishes from Aryna Vuradi, a senior from Brambleton, Va., and junior Matt Homer, one of the Homer twins who starred scholastically at The Tatnall School, Delaware finished in fourth place in the Georgetown Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, N.J.

   Originally scheduled to be a 54-hole event, the Georgetown Intercollegiate was shortened to 36 holes as Monday’s scheduled double round was cut in half due to some dreadful weather caused by the Nor’easter that crawled up the East Coast last week.

   The Blue Hens, in their first season as a member of Conference USA, actually handled the difficult conditions of Monday’s opening round better than anybody else as they grabbed the lead with a 16-over-par 300.

   Host Georgetown, a Big East representative, trailed Delaware by a shot with an opening round of 17-over 301 over the 7,202-yard, par-71 Echo Lake layout.

   The Hoyas bounced back with the best team round of the tournament, a 4-over 288 in Tuesday’s second round, to capture the team crown with a 21-over 589 total.

   Georgetown was led by individual champion Barnes Blake, a junior playing not far from his Westfield, N.J. home, as he captured the title on a match of cards after sharing the top spot with Harvard’s Reese Jensen, a freshman from Duxbury, Mass., each ending up with a 1-over 143 total.

   After struggling to a 5-over 76 in Monday’s awful weather, Blake blitzed the Echo Lake layout with a sparkling 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round to earn his first collegiate victory.

   Harvard, out of the Ivy League, added an 11-over 295 in Tuesday’s second round to its opening-round 302 as the Crimson earned runnerup honors with a 29-over 597 that left them eight shots behind Georgetown.

   Jensen matched par in the opening round with a 71, a tremendous effort in the wind and rain, before adding a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s second round to share the top spot with Georgetown’s Blake.

   William & Mary, a Coastal Athletic Association entry, finished two shots behind Harvard in third place with a 31-over 599 total as the Tribe added an 11-over 295 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 304.

   Leading the way for William & Mary was Preston Burton, a junior from Charlottesville, Va. who finished three shots behind Blake and Jensen in third place with a 4-over 146 total. Burton matched par in the second round with a 71 after opening with a 4-over 75.

   Delaware fell back in Tuesday’s second round with a 17-over 301 as the Blue Hens finished two shots behind William & Mary in fourth place with a 33-over 602 total.

   Vuradi added a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 75 to finish in a tie for fourth place with Saint Joseph’s junior Noah Moelter, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Central Bucks South in 2022, each ending up with a 5-over 147 total.

   Homer, who plays out of Wilmington Country Club, was a standout on the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s junior circuit, capturing titles in two of GAP’s major junior championships, the Christman Cup and the Jock MacKenzie Memorial, in 2022.

   Homer opened with a solid 3-over 74 in Monday’s difficult conditions and added a 76 in Tuesday’s second round to finish among a group of five players tied for 10^th place with an 8-over 150 total.

   Villanova, one of Georgetown’s Big East rivals, headed a trio of Big 5 teams in the field as the Wildcats finished in fifth place, five shots behind Delaware with a 38-over 606 total. Villanova opened with a 606 before adding a 299 in Tuesday’s second round.

   The Wildcats were led by senior Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus who began his college career at St. Joe’s before transferring to the Main Line. Zerfass added a 3-over 74 to his opening-round 77 to finish among the group tied for 15^th place with a 9-over 151 total.

   Zerfass was coming off his best finish as a Wildcat as he ended up in a tie for third place with a 3-under 213 total in the Connecticut Invitational at GreatHorse in Hampden, Mass. last month. Zerfass led Villanova to a fifth-place finish in the team standings with a 9-over 873 total.

   Saint Joseph’s, an Atlantic 10 entry and another Big 5 representative, finished in a tie for sixth place with Howard, the two-time reigning Northeast Conference champion, each ending up a shot behind Villanova with a 39-over 607 total.

   The Hawks opened with a 307 before improving with a 16-over 300 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Moelter led the way for St. Joe’s as he added a solid 2-over 73 to his opening-round 74 to get a share of fourth place in the individual standings with Delaware’s Vuradi with a 5-over total.

   Rounding out the Big 5 contingent was Drexel, one of William & Mary’s CAA rivals, as the Dragons finished in a tie for eighth place in the 11-team field with Loyola of Maryland, the reigning Patriot League champion, each ending up with a 40-over 608 total that left them a shot behind Saint Joseph’s and Howard.

   After opening with a 308, Drexel bounced back a little with a 16-over 300 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Drexel was led by Caleb Taylor, a senior from Woodbine, Md. who joined Delaware’s Homer in the group tied for 10^th place in the individual standings with an 8-over 150 total. Taylor rebounded from a 77 in the opening round with a solid 2-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Drew Schauenberg, a freshman from Barrington, Ill., gave Georgetown two finishers inside the top six in the individual standings as he ended up in a tie for sixth place with Towson’s Jai Sheth, a junior from Elkridge, Md., each landing on 6-over 148.

   Schauenberg owned the individual lead following a remarkable 1-under 70, the only round in red figures in the awful weather in the opening round, before closing with a 6-over 78.

   Backing up Blake and Schauenberg for Georgetown were Alan Rose III, a sophomore from Weston, Mass., Carson Erick, a freshman from Hingham, Mass., and C.J. Winchenbaugh, a sophomore who also hails from Weston, Mass., all of whom finished among the group tied for 20^th place at 10-over 152.

   Rose contributed a 2-over 73 to the Hoyas’ solid final-round showing after opening with a 79. Erick bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a 1-over 72. Winchenbaugh carded a second straight 5-over 76 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Towson’s Sheth closed with a 2-over 73 after opening with a 75 to join Georgetown’s Schauenberg in the tie for sixth place at 6-over.

   Howard junior Marlon Jones and William & Mary’s Talon Dingledine, a freshman from Chesterfield, Va., shared eighth place, each ending up with a 7-over 149 total.

   Jones added a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 74. Dingledine closed with a 1-over 72 after opening with a 77.

   George Williamson Jr., a freshman from Sykesville, Md., gave Saint Joseph’s a second top-10 finisher as he joined the group tied for 10^th place at 8-over 150. Williamson closed with a 2-over 73 after opening with a 77.

   Joining Delaware’s Homer, Drexel’s Taylor and Saint Joseph’s Williamson in the quintet that rounded out the top 10 in a tie for 10^th place at 8-over were Harvard’s Barry Zhang, a sophomore from Winter Garden, Fla., and Loyola of Maryland’s Eli Spaulding, a sophomore from Freeport, Maine.

   Zhang bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a solid 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round. Spaulding recorded a second straight 4-over 75 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Backing up Vuradi and Homer for Delaware was Ikk Iampongsai, a sophomore from Thailand who finished among the group tied for 15^th place with a 9-over 151 total. Iampongsai added a 3-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 77.

   Cheng-En Wu, a freshman from Taiwan, finished in the group tied for 29^th place for the Blue Hens with a 12-over 153 total. Wu contributed a solid 2-over 74 in Monday’s difficult conditions to help Delaware grab the team lead before adding a 79 in the second round.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Matthew Najburg, a junior from France who finished alone in 53^rd place with a 164 total as he added an 81 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 83.

   Backing up Zerfass for Villanova was Vibhav Alokam, a sophomore from Ypsilanti, Mich. who posted a pair of 5-over 76s to finish among the group tied for 20^th place with a 10-over 152 total.

   Ryan “Coop” Pamer, a senior from Hudson, Ohio, finished in the group tied for 29^th place at 153 for the Wildcats as he bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a solid 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Brockton English, a graduate student from Shelby Township, Mich., finished in the group tied for 34^th place at 154 as he tallied back-to-back 6-over 77s. English is taking a fifth year on the Main Line after transferring from Drexel.

   Rounding out the Villanova lineup was Nathan Marion, a junior from San Antonio, Texas who finished among the group tied for 40^th place with a 156 total. After opening with a counting 6-over 77, Marion closed with a 79.

   Backing up Moelter and Williamson for Saint Joseph’s were freshman Michael Henry Jr., a scholastic standout in the Inter-Ac League with Malvern Prep, and senior Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Wissahickon, as both finished in the group tied for 34^th place at 155.

   Henry added a 5-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 79 while Matt opened with a 6-over 77 before closing with a 78.

   Rounding out the Saint Joseph’s lineup was junior Tyler Leyden, a scholastic standout at La Salle who finished in 54^th place with a 167 total after adding an 82 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 85.

   Backing up Taylor for Drexel were junior John Keba, a scholastic standout at Allentown Central Catholic, and Thomas Young, a sophomore from Center Valley, both of whom finished among the group tied for 20^th place at 10-over 152.

   After opening with a 7-over 78 in Monday’s terrible weather, Keba added a 74 in Tuesday’s second round. Young had the opposite splits, posting a solid 3-over 74 in Monday’s wind and rain before adding a 78 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Senior Kevin Lydon, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Central Bucks West in 2021, finished in the group tied for 34^th place with a 154 total for the Dragons as he added a 4-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 79.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was sophomore John Stevenson, GAP’s Junior Player of the Year in 2024 and another product of perennial Catholic League power La Salle who finished among a trio of players tied for 50^th place with a 161 total. Stevenson added an 80 in Tuesday’s final round after opening with an 81.

   Cornell junior Tyler Debusschere, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Strath Haven in 2022, finished in 45^th place with a 158 total for the Big Red as he added a 7-over 78 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 80.

   Cornell, one of Harvard’s Ivy League rivals, finished last of the 11 teams in the field as the Big Red added a 313 in the second round to their opening-round 316 for a 61-over 629 total.