Saint Joseph’s opened the spring campaign of the 2018-’19
season with a trip to Weston, Fla. for the Atlantic 10 Match Play Championship
earlier this week.
The entire conference was not in attendance and most of the
A-10’s best golf schools, including reigning champion Davidson, which opens its
spring schedule in Myrtle Beach, S.C. next week, were not in the field.
But Dayton, the runnerup to Davidson in last spring’s A-10
Championship, did tee it up in the Atlantic 10 Match Play and conference member
George Washington had to feel pretty good about coming up with the title at
Weston Hills Country Club, the Colonials knocking off Florida Atlantic,
3.5-2.5, in Tuesday’s final.
St. Joe’s concluded its trip with a solid 4-2 victory over
George Mason in Tuesday’s seventh-place match. George Mason was No. 5 in the
Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, released earlier this month with the Hawks coming
in at No. 9. Dayton was the highest-rated team in the poll teeing it up at
Weston Hills at No. 4. George Washington was tied for sixth with Rhode Island
in the poll.
Junior Richard Riva, a former Lancaster Catholic standout,
made it three match wins in the A-10 Match Play with a 4 and 3 victory over
George Mason’s Florian Blatti, a sophomore from Switzerland.
The Hawks’ senior leader, Ross Pilliod, a Berks Catholic
product, claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Jeff Wilson, a junior from Austin,
Texas. Freshman J.T. Spina, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier in his last two
seasons at Pope John Paul II, earned a 2-up win over William Christian, a
freshman from Norwell, Mass., and Michael O’Brien, a junior from West Chester,
Ohio, also earned a full point for St. Joe’s with a 4 and 3 victory over Connor
Messick, a graduate student from Oak Hill, Va.
Spina, the son of John Spina, Philadelphia Cricket Club’s
director of instruction, quickly worked his way into the St. Joe’s lineup last
fall and earned himself a trip to the opener of the spring season in Florida.
Sophomore Wills Montgomery, who starred scholastically at
Downingtown East, and junior Tommy Lewis, a Central Bucks East product, lost
their matches, but each took his opponent to the 18th hole before
falling. Montgomery dropped a 2-up decision to Sam Jung, a freshman from
Centreville, Va., and Lewis fell, 1-up, to J.P. Miller, a freshman from
Windermere, Fla.
The Hawks fell, 4-2, in their Atlantic 10 Match Play opener
Monday to eventual finalist Florida Atlantic.
Riva gained the lone full point for St. Joe’s as he defeated
Brian Dolehide, a senior from Hinsdale, Ill., 1-up.
Spina battled Florida Atlantic’s Karan Nalam, a sophomore
from New Zealand, to a draw and Pilliod also earned a half-point in finishing
all square against Sully Zagerman, a junior from Windermere, Fla.
O’Brien dropped a 3 and 2 decision to Patrick Poate, a
sophomore from Niceville, Fla., Lewis fell, 4 and 2, to Lynes Behling, a
freshman from Germany, and Montgomery suffered a 6 and 5 setback at the hands
of Bruce Morrison Jr., a freshman from Dothan, Ala.
Dropped into the consolation bracket Monday afternoon, the
Hawks fell to Morehead State, 3.5-2.5.
Riva continued his solid start to the spring as he rolled to
a 4 and 3 victory over Zach Smith, a redshirt senior from Mount Sterling, Ky. Lewis
picked up the other full point for the Hawks by claiming a 2-up decision over
Tyler Hillyer, a senior from Princeton, W.Va.
O’Brien earned a half-point by battling Nick Wilkins, a
senior from Frankfort, Ky., to a draw.
Montgomery dropped a 4 and 3 decision to Joe Muschong, a
sophomore from Lexington, Ky., Spina was steamrolled, 7 and 6, by Zac Viminitz,
a sophomore from Canada, and Pilliod fell, 3 and 2, to Ryan Gillum, a redshirt
sophomore from Grayson, Ky.
Junior Reid Winkler, a former Salesianum standout,
accompanied St. Joe’s on the trip and competed as an individual. He defeated
George Washington’s Yoo Jin Kim, a junior from Centreville, Va., 2-up, and fell,
3 and 2, to Oakland’s Owen Tucci, a freshman from Macomb, Mich., Monday.
Winkler was scheduled to face Florida Atlantic’s Max Sherman, a sophomore from
Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, but I couldn’t dig up that result.
After defeating St. Joe’s Monday, Florida Atlantic edged St.
Bonaventure, 3.5-2.5, in Monday afternoon’s semifinals to reach the final.
Nalam, Dolehide and Poate each earned a full point for Florida Atlantic with
Zagerman battling for a crucial half-point with a draw.
George Washington pulled out a couple of close matches,
knocking off Dayton, 3.5-2.5, in the opening round and topping Oakland, again
by a 3.5-2.5 margin, in the semifinals to give the Colonials a spot in the
final.
Claiming full points for George Washington in the win over
Dayton were Adrian Castagnola, a junior from The Woodlands, Texas, Clifford
Thompson, a sophomore from South Africa, and Logan Lowe, a senior from Grass
Valley, Calif. Luis Alfonso Preciado, a freshman from Mexico, earned a crucial
half-point with a draw.
Claiming full points for George Washington in the win over
Oakland were Preciado, Lowe and Stephen Brown, a sophomore from Los Angeles.
Logan Othmer, a freshman from West Palm Beach, Fla., pulled out the crucial
half-point that gave the Colonials the edge.
George Washington jumped out to a 2.5-0 lead over Florida
Atlantic in Tuesday’s title match.
Castagnola holed a par putt on the 18th hole to
finish all square with Nalam and earn a critical half-point, Preciado claimed a
3 and 2 victory over Dolehide and Othmer edged Behling, 2 and 1. Preciado went
2-0-1 for the two days.
Florida Atlantic battled back with Poate rolling to a 5 and
4 victory over Thompson and Morrison cruising to a 6 and 4 win over Brown.
But GW’s Lowe holed a 10-foot putt for par on the 17th
green to finish off a 2 and 1 victory over Zagerman that sealed the win and the
title for the Colonials. It capped a 3-0 run through the Atlantic 10 Match Play
for Lowe.
Dayton knocked off Morehead State, 3.5-2.5, in the
fifth-place match and St. Bonaventure claimed third place with a 4.5-1.5
victory over Oakland.
No comments:
Post a Comment