Harvard holds off Dartmouth to take Ivy men's crown

   A late charge by the Dartmouth men came up just short as Harvard claimed its first Ivy League championship since 1975 Sunday at Metedeconk National Golf Club in Jackson, N.J.

   The Crimson got a jump on the field with an opening-round 292, then added rounds of 306 and 309 for a 43-over 907 total that was four shots better than Dartmouth’s 911 total.

   Harvard was led by Aurian Capart, a freshman from Belgium, who finished tied for fourth in the individual standings at 8-over 224.

   The individual title went to Cornell’s Luke Graboyes, a junior from Watchung, N.J. Graboyes had rounds of 73, 72 and 76 over the 6,859-yard, par-72 Metedeconk National layout for a 5-over 221 total.

   That gave him a one-shot margin over Dartmouth’s Ian Kelsey, a sophomore from Deerfield, Ill. who closed with a 1-over 73 to finish at 6-over 222. Another shot back in third was Yale’s Will Bernstein, a sophomore from New York City, whose 2-under 70 was the low round of the final day and gave him a 7-over 223 total.

   Sharing fourth with Harvard’s Capart was Columbia’s Mert Selamet, a junior from Dublin, Ohio who had a final-round 71 to finish at 224.

   Kelsey led a strong showing for Dartmouth, which had rounds of 301, 309 and a closing 301 that gave the Big Green second place.

   Charles Cai, a senior from West Windsor, N.J., also got in the top 10 for Dartmouth as a final-round 78 gave him a 229 total and ninth place alone. Junior Scott Jaster, a standout at The Haverford School, always seems to finish strong at the Ivy tourney and he matched par with a 72 in the final round to finish tied for 14^th at 231. John Lazor, a freshman from Westwood, Mass., was another shot back in 17^th place at 232. And junior Sean Fahey, Jaster’s Inter-Ac League rival at Episcopal Academy, had his best round in Sunday’s wrapup, a 78 that left him tied for 34^th at 248.

   Yale finished third, eight shots back of Dartmouth, at 919, Cornell was fourth at 920, Columbia finished fifth at 923, Princeton finished sixth at 925 and defending champion Penn placed seventh at 947.

   Princeton was led by Eric Mitchell, a sophomore from Winston-Salem, N.C. who finished sixth at 9-over 225, highlighted by a 2-under 70 in the middle round. Also for the Tigers, sophomore Michael Davis, the former Malvern Prep standout and runnerup at last summer’s BMW Philadelphia Amateur, finished tied for 18^th at 233, sandwiching rounds of 74 and 76 around an 83 in the second round.

   Penn was led by Matthew Kern, a junior from Springboro, Ohio who was in the group tied for 18^th at 233 with rounds of 78, 80 and 75. It was the first time this spring that Kern cracked the Penn lineup.