Taylor helps Drexel finish fifth in Oldfield Classic; Georgia Southwestern captures team crown

 

   Drexel opened the spring portion of its schedule for the wraparound 2025-2026 season this week with a trip to Okatie, S.C. and ended up in fifth place in the Oldfield Classic at the Oldfield Golf Club.

   Looks the start of a scheduled double round Monday was delayed by weather, probably the passing of the bottom end of the bomb cyclone that just hammered the New England coast with feet of snow and hurricane-force winds.

   As a result, the second round had to be completed Tuesday morning followed by the third round.

   Pretty sure the Drexel guys have been limited to simulator sessions in the awful winter we’re having in the Philadelphia area.

   The Dragons, playing out of the Coastal Athletic Association, opened with a 17-over-par 305 over the par-72 Oldfield layout in difficult conditions. They completed a 9-over 297 when second-round play resumed Tuesday morning and matched par in the final round with a 288 for a 26-over 890 total.

   Drexel was led by Caleb Taylor, a senior from Woodbine, Md. who closed with a sparkling 3-under 69 to finish among a group of four players tied for eighth place at 1-over 217. Taylor had opened with a 3-over 75 before adding a 73 in the second round.

   The field for the Oldfield Classic, hosted by South Carolina Beaufort, was largely comprised of Division II schools, although the four teams that finished ahead of Drexel are all among the top 12 teams in the latest Scoreboard, powered by clippd, D-II rankings.

   Speaking of hurricanes, it was the Hurricanes of Georgia Southwestern State, getting a tie for second place from Sam Brown, a junior from Bulgaria, who finished strong in the final two rounds to claim a two-shot victory in the team chase with a 5-over 869 total.

   Georgia Southwestern, a Peach Belt Conference representative and No. 8 in Scoreboard’s D-II rankings, opened with a 12-over 300 and added a 4-under 284 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 285 to hold off Catawba, No. 9 in Scoreboard’s D-II rankings.

   Brown led the way for Georgia Southwestern as he added back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final two rounds to his opening round of 1-over 73 to end up in a tie for second place with Catawba’s Paul Esnault, a senior from France, and Anderson’s Sam McMillan, a junior from Mount Pleasant, S.C., each landing on 3-under 213.

  Emmanuel’s Gabriel Hull, a freshman from South Daytona, Fla., captured the individual title in the Oldfield Classic as he matched par in the opening round with a 72, seized control with a sparkling 4-under 68 in the second round and closed with a 1-under 71 for a 5-under 211 total that was two shots clear of the trio tied for second place.

   Jordan Jones, a sophomore from New Zealand, gave Georgia Southwestern another top-10 finisher as he was part of the foursome tied for eighth place at 1-over 217. Jones struggled in the difficult conditions of the opening round with a 6-over 78, but bounced right back with a 4-under 68 in the second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Catawba, a South Atlantic Conference representative, struggled to an opening-round 305, but bounced back with a 2-under 286 in the second round and made a run at Georgia Southwestern with a final round of 8-under 280, the best team round of the tournament, but came up just short with a 7-over 871 total.

    Esnault led the way for the Indians as he bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 76 with a 2-under 70 in the second round before fueling Catawba’s final-round surge with a sparkling 5-under 67, the low individual round of the tournament, that earned him a share of runnerup honors with a 3-under total.

   Catawba had another strong showing from Ilia Antoniadis, a sophomore from Germany who finished in a tie for sixth place with Wingate’s Lewis Beeden, a senior from England, as they both landed on 1-under 215.

   Antoniadis opened with a solid 2-under 70 in some difficult conditions and added a 2-over 74 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 69.

   Wingate, No. 6 in Scoreboard’s D-II rankings, finished a shot behind Catawba with an 8-over 872 total.

   The Bulldogs, who reached the NCAA Division II semifinals last spring at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., held the lead following a solid opening round of 6-over 294 in Monday’s difficult conditions. Wingate added an 8-over 296 in the second round before closing with a 6-under 282.

   Breeden led the way for Wingate as he added a pair of 1-under 71s in the final two rounds to get his share of sixth place with Catawba’s Atoniadis at 1-under.

   The Bulldogs had another top-10 finisher in Mattia D’Errico, a sophomore from New Zealand who was part of the foursome tied for eighth place at 1-over. D’Errico added back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds to his opening round of 3-over 75.

   Columbus State, a rival of Georgia Southwestern in the Peach Belt Conference, finished 11 shots behind Wingate in fourth place with a 19-over 883 total as the Cougars opened with a 304 and added a 4-over 292 in the second round before closing with a 1-under 287.

   Leading the way for Columbus State, No. 12 in Scoreboard’s D-II rankings, was William Partner, a freshman from England who finished alone in fifth place in the individual standings with a 2-under 214 total. After opening with a 1-over 73, Partner matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 3-under 69.

   Drexel was another seven shots behind Columbus State in fifth place with its 26-over 890 total. The Dragons came up just short of a CAA title last spring when they lost in a playoff to Elon in the conference championship at Union League National Golf Club at the Jersey Shore.

   Backing up Brown and Jones for Georgia Southwestern was Stefan Rojas, a redshirt freshman from Luxembourg who finished among the group tied for 12^th place at 2-over 218. Rojas bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 77 with a 2-under 70 in the second round before closing with a 71.

   Sacha Corlouer, a freshman from France, finished in the group tied for 25^th place at 9-over 225 for the Hurricanes. Corlouer matched par with a 72 in the tough conditions of the opening round, but struggled to an 80 in the second round before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the Georgia Southwestern lineup was Joao Costa, a senior from Portugal who finished among the group tied for 58^th place at 233. Costa added a 4-over 76 in the second round to his opening-round 78 before closing with a 79.

   Oscar Hammar, a senior from Sweden, competed as an individual for Georgia Southwestern and had a decent showing, ending up among the trio tied for 35^th place at 228. Hammar struggled in the opening round with an 82, but rebounded with a 3-over 75 in the second round before closing with a solid 1-under 71.

   Anderson’s McMillan added back-to-back 2-under 70s to his opening round of 1-over 73 to join Georgia Southwestern’s Brown and Catawba’s Esnault in the trio tied for second place at 3-under.

   Host USC Beaufort’s Octavio Laurent, a freshman from France, rounded out the foursome tied for eighth place at 1-over as he bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 76 with a 1-under 71 in the second round before closing with a 70.

   Backing up Taylor for Drexel was senior Kevin Lydon, who was a scholastic standout at Central Bucks West and earned a trip to the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club last summer.

   Lydon matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 before closing with a 71 to finish among the group tied for 12^th place at 2-over 218.

   Junior John Keba, who starred scholastically at Allentown Central Catholic, was also solid in the Oldfield Classic for Drexel as he finished in a tie for 23^rd place with a 6-over 222 total. After shaking off the rust in an opening round of 5-over 77, Keba added a 1-over 73 in the second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Sophomore John Stevenson, a La Salle High standout and the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Player of the Year in 2024, finished among a trio of players tied for 70^th place at 238 for Drexel. Stevenson bounced back from an opening-round 83 with a 6-over 78 in the second round before closing with a 77.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was Isaiah Marseille, a redshirt freshman from Linden, N.J. who played his scholastic golf at Blair Academy and Mercersburg Academy, as he finished among a trio of players tied for 78^th place at 242. After opening with a 6-over 78, Marseille added an 81 in the second round before closing with an 83.

   Sophomores Matt Normand and Nathan Guertler, scholastic rivals at Rancocas Valley and Haddon Heights, respectively, and pals as junior golfers, competed as individuals for Drexel at Oldfield.

   Both showed some rust from a long winter in the Philadelphia area.

   After opening with an 83, Normand added an 86 in the second round before closing with an 84 to finish in 87^th place with a 253 total. Guertler struggled to an opening-round 94 and added an 86 in the second round before closing with an 81 to finish in 89^th place with a 261 total.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lefevre, Glaudas finish 1-2 to lead Stetson to team crown in Dorado Beach Collegiate

 

   With its two Frenchmen, graduate student Matthis Lefevre and senior Gaspar Glaudas, battling it out for the individual title, Stetson claimed an eight-shot victory in the Dorado Beach Collegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Dorado Beach Resort & Club’s East Course in Puerto Rico.

   Stetson, which plays out of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN), had carded a 2-over 290 over Dorado Beach’s 7,192-yard, par-72 East Course layout in Sunday’s opening round, but surged into the lead with a 9-under 279 in Monday’s second round before closing with an 8-under 280 for a 15-under 849 total that gave the Hatters their second win in the wraparound 2025-2026 season.

   And Lefevre, who joined his countryman Glaudas at Stetson after Lefevre transferred from Arkansas, and Glaudas led the way.

   The Frenchmen put on quite a show in last summer’s Royal & Ancient Amateur Championship at The Royal St. George’s Golf Club as both reached the round of 16 with Lefevre winning in that round to advance to the quarterfinals.

   Lefevre had matched par in the opening round at Dorado Beach’s East Course with a 72 and surged into the lead with a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round. Glaudas, who represented Stetson while competing as an individual in last spring’s NCAA Tallahassee Regional after claiming the ASUN’s individual crown, had also matched par in the opening round with a 72, but began the final round three shots behind his teammate after adding a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round.

   Glaudas made a run at Lefevre in the final round, recording a 4-under 68 that matched the low round of the day in the final round. But Lefevre responded with a steady 2-under 70 for a 6-under 210 total that was one shot better than Glaudas.

   Temple escaped winter’s latest salvo in the Philadelphia area with its trip to Dorado Beach for its second tournament of the spring. The Owls, who play out of the American Athletic Conference, finished in 13^th place in the 15-team field.

   I’ll recap the individual breakdown for the Temple players and take a brief look back at the Owls’ spring opener, the Wexford Intercollegiate on Hilton Head Island, S.C., a week earlier later in this post.

   Southern Mississippi, a Sun Belt Conference entry, was right on Stetson’s heels throughout the tournament. After adding an 8-under 280 in Monday’s second round to their opening round of 5-over 293, the Golden Eagles trailed the Hatters by just four shots going into the final round.

   Southern Miss closed with a solid 4-under 284 to end up eight shots behind Stetson in second place with a 7-under 857 total.

   The Golden Eagles had a trio of players who finished among the top 10.

   Benjamin Fernandez, a junior from Paraguay, shared third place with Elon’s Dylan Lewis, a freshman from Wilmington, N.C., each ending up a shot behind Stetson’s Glaudas at 4-under 212.

   Fernandez matched the best score of the final round with a 4-under 68 after he had matched par with a pair of 72s in the first two rounds.

   Southern Miss’ Jake Moffitt, a freshman from Ripley, Mass, finished in a tie for fifth place with Butler’s Derek Tabor, a sophomore from New Castle, Ind., each landing on 3-under 213.

   Moffitt added a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 71 before matching par with a 72 in the final round.

   Matthew Javier, a sophomore from Canada, gave the Golden Eagles a third top-10 finisher as he landed in a tie for seventh place at 2-under 214 with Elon’s Jack Wieler, a junior from Bluffton, S.C., George Mason sophomore David Fuhrer II, who starred scholastically at Fox Chapel and is a member of one of the first families of amateur golf in the Pittsburgh area, and host North Carolina Greensboro’s Kelvin Hernandez, a junior playing in his native Puerto Rico.

   Javier got it going in Monday’s second round with a 4-under 68 in between a pair of 1-over 73s in the first and final rounds.

   Host UNCG, a Southern Conference representative, finished three shots behind Southern Miss in third place with a 4-under 860 total. After opening with a 1-over 289, the Spartans added a 2-under 286 in Monday’s second round and a 3-under 285 in the final round.

   Hernandez led the way for the Spartans as he bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 74 with back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final two rounds that left him among the foursome tied for seventh place at 2-under.

   Reigning Coastal Athletic Association champion Elon finished two shots behind UNCG in fourth place with a 2-under 862 total. The Phoenix matched par in the opening round with a 288 and added a 1-over 289 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 6-under 282.

   Elon edged Drexel in a playoff to claim the CAA Championship crown at Union League National at the Jersey Shore last spring. The Phoenix represented the CAA in the Bremerton Regional.

   Lewis led the way for Elon at Dorado Beach as he added a sparkling 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round to his opening round of 2-over 74 before closing with a 2-under 70 to join Southern Miss’ Fernandez in the tie for third place at 4-under.

   Wieler gave the Phoenix a second top-10 finisher as he closed with a 3-under 69 to join the foursome tied for seventh place at 2-under. Wieler had opened with a solid 2-under 70, but backed off a little in Monday’s second round with a 3-over 75 before finishing strong.

   George Mason, a rival of Temple in the A-10, finished a shot behind Elon in fifth place with a 1-under 863 total. The Patriots opened with a 2-over 290 and added a 4-over 292 in Monday’s second round before finishing strong with a 7-under 281 to move up the leaderboard.

   Fuhrer, who finished in a tie for 10^th place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Fox Chapel in 2023, led the way for George Mason as he sandwiched a 2-over 74 with a pair of 2-under 70s to join the quartet tied for seventh place at 2-under.

   Butler, out of the Big East, was another two shots behind George Mason in sixth place with a 1-over 865. After opening with a 5-over 293, the Bulldogs added a 3-under 285 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 287.

   Butler was led by Tabor as he opened with a 2-under 70, matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 and closed with a 1-under 71 to join Southern Miss’ Moffitt in the tie for fifth place at 3-under.

   Temple opened with a 306 at Dorado Beach and added a 311 in Monday’s second round before closing with its best round of the tournament, an 8-over 296, to finish in 13^th place with a 49-over 913 total.

   Backing up Lefevre and Glaudas for Stetson was the pair of Jackson Hicks, a senior from Roswell, N.M., and Simon Engman, a junior from Sweden, both of whom landed in a large group tied for 13^th place at even-par 216.

   After opening with a 3-over 75, Hicks contributed a 2-under 70 to the second-round surge by the Hatters before closing with a 1-under 71. Engman sandwiched a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 1-over 73s.

   Rounding out the Stetson lineup was Rasmus Ronnberg, a senior from Sweden who finished among a trio of players tied for 31^st place with a 4-over 220. After opening with a 1-over 73, Ronnberg struggled a little in Monday’s second round with a 4-over 76 before contributing a counting 1-under 71 as the Hatters were fighting off Southern Miss in the final round.

   Gabriel Lindahl, a junior from Sweden, competed as an individual for Stetson and also delivered a solid performance, finishing in the group tied for 34^th place with a 5-over 221 total. Lindahl added a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 75 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Leading the way for Temple was Nicholas Pisarski, a freshman from Orlando, Fla. who finished among the group tied for 39^th place with a 6-over 222 total. Pisarski sandwiched a 4-over 76 in Monday’s second round with a pair of solid 1-over 73s.

   Mason Tome, a sophomore from West Palm Beach, Fla., backed up Pisarski as he finished in the group tied for 44^th place with a 7-over 223 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Tome struggled a little in the second round with a 77 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   William Jun, a sophomore from Jupiter, Fla., finished among a trio tied for 77^th place for the Owls with a 233 total as he closed with a 3-over 75 after signing for back-to-back 79s in the first two rounds.

   Jake Naese, a graduate student from Bradenton, Fla., finished in a tie for 82^nd place at 235 as he added a 7-over 79 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 80 before closing with a 76.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup was junior Drew Clark, an Archmere Academy product from Kennett Square who finished in 90^th place with a 251 total. Clark struggled mightily in Monday’s second round with a 93 after opening with an 82, but bounced back with a final round of 4-over 76.

   Junior Ben Saggers, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Bishop Shanahan in 2021, teed it up as an individual at Dorado Beach and finished in a tie for 60^th place with a 228 total. After opening with a 4-over 76, Saggers added a 79 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 73.

   Pisarski was the low Owl as Temple opened its spring season a week before the Dorado Beach Collegiate in the Wexford Intercollegiate at Wexford Golf Club’s Arnold Palmer Signature Course on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

   Looks like the Owls caught some decent weather at Hilton Head and Pisarski opened with a solid 2-under 70, added a 4-over 76 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round and closed with a 74 for a 4-over 220 that left him in the group tied for 17^th place.

   Temple finished in 11^th place in the team standings with a 36-over 900 total.

   Saint Joseph’s, which plays out of the A-10, also opened its spring campaign in the Wexford Intercollegiate and finished in 16^th place in the 18-team field with a 45-over 909 total.

   The Hawks were led by senior Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Wissahickon, and George Williamson Jr., a freshman from Sykesville, Md., both of whom landed among the group tied for 38^th place at 9-over 225.

   Matt added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 76 before finishing up with a 75.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Williamson added a 75 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 76.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behind co-medalist Wallin, West Georgia rallies to claim title in The Savannah Intercollegiate

 

   West Georgia, behind individual co-medalist Milton Wallin, a sophomore from Sweden, claimed its first team title in its first year as a Division I program in The Savannah Intercollegiate, which wrapped up on a chilly, windy Sunday at the Club at Savannah Harbor in Savannah, Ga.

   The plan was for a double round Saturday, but darkness halted play late in the second round. The second round was completed Sunday morning followed by the final round.

   Pretty sure Savannah got the bottom end of the blossoming Nor’easter that pounded us here in the Northeast later in the day with a foot of snow (way more closer to the Jersey Shore) and high winds, which sent Sunday’s final-round scores soaring.

   West Georgia, in its first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN), trailed Creighton, out of the Big East, by seven shots with a bunch of teams between the Wolves and the Bluejays when the second round was finally completed Sunday morning.

   West Georgia, in the spring opener of its wraparound 2025-2026 season, had opened with a 9-over 297 over the 7,131-yard, par-72 Savannah Harbor layout and added a solid 4-over 292 in the second round.

   Then the Wolves went out and handled the difficult conditions a little better than everybody else, closing with an 11-over 299 for a 24-over 888 total that was two shots better than Iona, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) representative, and four shots better than Creighton and Longwood, a Big South Conference representative.

   Wallin got it in red figures in each of the first two rounds with back-to-back 1-under 71s and held it together in the wind and the cold in a 1-over 73 in the final round that gave him a share of first place with Longwood sophomore Hunter Swidzinski, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Butler in 2023, each landing on 1-under 215.

   Wallin’s win was also the first individual victory for a West Georgia player at the Division I level.

   Swidzinski trailed Wallin by a shot going into the final round as he matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-under 71. He matched par again in the final round with another 72 to get a share of the individual crown, the first individual title of his collegiate career.

   Wallin and Swidzinski were the only players to finish under par for 54 holes on a tough golf course in tough conditions.

   West Georgia had another player finish in the top 10 as Max Winnersjo, a sophomore and, like Wallin, a Swede, finished among a group of eight players who finished in a tie for seventh place at 5-over 221.

   Winnersjo opened with a 2-over 74 and added a 4-over 76 in the second round before closing with a 1-under 71 that was critical to West Georgia’s closing kick.

   Iona matched par in the opening round with a 288 and added a 10-over 298 in the second round before closing with a 304 that gave it a runnerup finish with a 26-over 890 total that was two shots behind West Georgia.

   The Gaels had two of the players in the large group tied for seventh place at 5-over, Sean Richards, a junior from Parkland, Fla., and Jennings Oelke, a freshman from Tigard, Ore.

   Richards was even-par going into the final round as he opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 1-over 73 in the second round before struggling in the tough conditions of the final round with a 77. Oelke opened with a sparkling 2-under 70 and added a 4-over 75 in the second round before closing with a 76.

   Creighton, at No. 153 the highest-ranked team in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings in the field, and Longwood shared third place as each ended up two shots behind Iona with a 28-over 892 toal.

   The Bluejays got the jump on the field with a sparkling opening round of 5-under 283, the only team round under par for the weekend. They still had the lead following an 11-over 299 in the second round before struggling to a 310 in the difficult conditions of the final round.

   Creighton had two players finish among the top six in the individual standings as Grant Feldman, a senior from Austin, Texas, shared fourth place with Bradley’s Carter Stevenson, a junior from Marquette Heights, Ill., at 3-over 219 and Gavin Gerch, a sophomore from Lincoln, Neb., finished alone in sixth place at 4-over 220.

   After opening with a solid 2-under 70, Feldman added a 1-over 73 in the second round before closing with a 76. Gerch opened with a sizzling 5-under 67, easily the best individual round of the weekend, and added a 3-over 75 in the second round before struggling a little in the final round with a 78.

   The Lancers, behind Swidzinski, opened with a 5-over 293 and added a 10-over 298 in the second round before finishing up with a 301 to get a share of third place with Creighton.

   Morehead State, an Ohio Valley Conference entry, finished a shot behind Creighton and Longwood in fifth place with a 29-over 893 total. The Eagles were solid in the first two rounds, opening with a 5-over 293 and adding a 294 in the second round. But, like most of the field, Morehead State struggled in the final round, closing with a 306.

   Morehead State had two players in that eight-player logjam tied for seventh place at 5-over in Seamus Bogan, a sophomore from Clover, S.C., and Remy Stalcup, a junior from Lake Orion, Mich.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Bogan added a 3-over 75 in the second round and finished up with a solid 74. Stalcup sandwiched a 1-over 73 in the second round with a pair of 74s to join Bogan in the large group at 5-over.

   It was the spring opener for Villanova, like Creighton, a Big East representative, and the Wildcats finished in ninth place in the 18-team field with a 36-over 900 total. Villanova opened with a 10-over 298 and added a 299 in the second round before closing with a 303.

   Backing up Wallin and Winnersjo for West Georgia were Tyler Nesci, a senior from Australia, and Thomas Romani, a sophomore from Switzerland, both of whom landed among the group tied for 42^nd place at 12-over 228.

   Nesci bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 77 by matching par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 79 in Sunday’s difficult conditions. Romani added a 2-over 74 in the second round to his opening-round 78 before finishing up with a 76.

   Rounding out the West Georgia lineup was Luke Sienkiewicz, a junior from Germantown, Tenn. who finished in the group tied for 63^rd place with a 233 total. Sienkiewicz recorded back-to-back 3-over 75s in the first two rounds before struggling to an 83 in the final round.

   Fairfield’s Rasmus Ditzinger, a sophomore from Sweden – the Savanna Harbor layout seemed to agree with the Swedes in the field – finished a shot behind the co-medalists Wallin and Swidzinski in third place in the individual standings with a 2-over 218 total.

   Ditzinger matched par in the second round with a 72 after he had opened with a 1-under 71 before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Ditzinger and the Stags captured the team title in the MAAC Championship last spring and earned a trip to the NCAA’s Reno Regional, the first appearance in a regional in the program’s history. Fairfield shared 12^th place in The Savannah Intercollegiate with Colgate, out of the Patriot League, each landing on 46-over 910.

   Bradley’s Stevenson had the individual lead when the second round was finally completed Sunday morning as he signed for a second straight 2-under 70. A final round of 7-over 79 dropped him back into a tie for fourth place with Creighton’s Feldman at 3-over.

   Rounding out the gang of eight tied for seventh place at 5-over were Sacred Heart’s Pablo Lacayo, a freshman from Nicaragua, Colgate’s Jayden Freedman, a sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla., and Purdue Fort Wayne’s Brock Reschly, a junior from Middlebury, Ind.

   Lacayo opened with a solid 2-under 70 and added a 3-over 75 in the second round before closing with a 76. Freedman came on strong after struggling to an 80 in the opening round as he added a 1-under 71 in the second round and closed with a 2-under 70, the best round of the day in the cold, windy conditions.

   After opening with a 1-under 71, Reschly added a 2-over 74 in the second round before finishing up with a 76.

   Leading the way for Villanova were seniors Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus, and Ryan “Coop” Pamer of Hudson, Ohio as both landed among the trio tied for 25^th place at 8-over 224.

   Zerfass had finished off the fall portion of Villanova’s schedule by capturing the individual title and leading the Wildcats to the team crown in the Big 5 Championship at The 1912 Club.

   After opening with a solid 2-under 70, Zerfass added a pair of 5-over 77s.

   Pamer, winner of the Big 5 individual title in the fall of 2024 at Aronimink Golf Club, added a 1-over 73 in the second round to his opening-round 76 before closing with a 75.

   Brockton English, a graduate student from Shelby Township, Mich., backed up Zerfass and Pamer as he finished in the group tied for 28^th place at 225. English, who transferred out to the Main Line from Drexel, opened with a 5-over 77 before adding back-to-back 2-over 74s in the final two rounds.

   Vibhav Alokam, a sophomore from Ypsilanti, Mich., finished among the group tied for 38^th place at 227 for the Wildcats as he registered back-to-back 3-over 75s in the first two rounds before closing with a 77.

   Rounding out the Villanova lineup was Nathan Marion, a junior from San Antonio, Texas who finished in the group tied for 80^th place with a 236 total. After opening with a 5-over 77 and adding a 79 in the second round, Marion closed with an 80.

   Villanova head coach James Wilkes used the opportunity of the spring opener to allow four other players to escape what has become an endless winter in the Philadelphia area and get in some competitive reps in Savannah while competing as individuals.

   Joshua Lavely, a senior from Kewadin, Mich., had a decent showing, sandwiching a 2-over 74 in the second round with a pair of 77s as he finished in the group tied for 42^nd place at 228.

  Peter Barros, a junior from Bethesda, Md., finished among the group tied for 91^st place at 239 as he opened with a solid 2-over 74, but struggled mightily with an 86 in the second round before closing with a 79.

   Ian Love, a sophomore from Chicago, Ill., ended up in the trio tied for 96^th place at 241 as he opened with a 4-over 76, but couldn’t solve the Savannah Harbor layout after that, posting an 84 in the second round before closing with an 81.

   Rounding out the Villanova contingent was Luke Leonard, a freshman from Jupiter, Fla. who finished in a tie for 103^rd place at 245. After opening with a 79, Leonard carded an 82 in the second round before closing with an 84.