With junior Connor Schmidt, the reigning Pennsylvania
Amateur champion, rolling to the individual title, Drexel completed a
successful defense of its Wildcat Spring Invitational title Tuesday at White
Manor Country Club in Willistown Township.
Schmidt, a member of the 2015 PIAA Class AAA runnerup team
as a senior at Peters Township, had opened with a scintillating 8-under-par 63
over the 6,733-yard, par-71 White Manor layout Monday. He cooled off a little
Tuesday, adding a 3-under 68 for an 11-under 131 total that was three shots
clear of the field.
Head coach Ben Feld’s Dragons rode Schmidt’s hot first round
to a 12-under 272 total and added a solid 5-under 279 Tuesday for a 17-under
551 total that left them with a nine-shot margin of victory over runnerup Akron.
Schmidt’s 11-under total broke the school record he
established as a freshman in 2016 of 7-under and Drexel’s 17-under team total
smashed the school record of 11-under. They are both relation-to-par records
and both were set at the Matthews Collegiate Invitational in Appalachian, N.Y.,
according to the Drexel website.
It was Schmidt’s second win of the spring as he claimed his
first collegiate victory in the Lonnie Barton Invitational at the LPGA
International Golf Club in Daytona Beach, Fla. last month.
Akron had posted a 10-under 274 in the opening round and
trailed Drexel by just two shots, but fell back a little with a 2-over 286 in
Tuesday’s final round. The Zips, however, held onto second place with an
8-under 560.
The biggest moves of the day were made by Cleveland State
and Drexel’s Colonial Athletic Association rival Delaware, both of which
finished in a tie for third at 7-under 561, a shot behind Akron. The Vikings
fired a 14-under 270, a program record in relation to par, after they had opened
with a 7-over 291 while the Blue Hens posted a 10-under 274 after opening with
a 3-over 287.
Delaware’s 274 matched the single-round program record and
its 561 total broke the program record for 36 holes by five shots, according to
the Delaware website.
Lafayette closed with a 3-under 281 after opening with a
2-over 286 to finish alone in fifth at 1-under 567, six shots behind Cleveland
State and Delaware.
La Salle added an 8-over 292 to its opening-round 293 to
finish 14th at 17-over 585. Host Villanova added an 11-over 295 to
its opening-round 294 to share 17th place in the 20-team field with
Big East rival St. John’s at 21-over 589.
Backing up Schmidt for Drexel was sophomore Stephen Cerbara,
the 2015 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Holy Ghost Prep who added a
1-over 72 to his opening-round 67 to finish among a group of four players tied
for seventh at 3-under 139.
Angelo Giantsopoulos, a sophomore from Canada, carded a
second straight 1-under 70 to finish in the group tied for 11th at
2-under 140. Senior Mike Cook, who starred scholastically at Conestoga, had the
Dragons’ second-best score of the day, a 2-under 69, after opening with a 72 as
he landed in the group tied for 18th at 1-under 141.
Jeffrey Cunningham, a sophomore from West Palm Beach, Fla.,
added a 2-over 73 to his opening-round 72 to finish among the group tied for 33rd
at 3-over 145.
Delaware’s Mike Pulgini, a freshman from Middletown, Del.,
carded a sparkling 5-under 66 in Tuesday’s final round after opening with a 68
as he claimed runnerup honors in the individual standings at 8-under 134, three
shots behind Schmidt.
Cleveland State’s Zach Robbins, a sophomore from Grand
Rapids, Mich., matched the low round of the day with a 6-under 65 and headed a
group of four players tied for third at 4-under 138, four shots behind Pulgini.
Robbins had opened with a 2-over 73.
Another of the day’s three 65s belonged to Robbins’
teammate, Anton Krecic, a senior from Columbia Station, Ohio. Krecce had opened
with a 76 and finished among the group tied for 18th at 1-under 141.
Zak Supelak, a sophomore from Copley, Ohio added a 4-under
67 to Cleveland State’s remarkable second-round surge as he joined the quartet
tied for seventh at 3-under 139. Supelak had opened with a 1-over 72.
Joining Robbins in the foursome tied for third at 4-under
138 were Colgate’s Ryan Skae, a junior from Old Tappan, N.J., Rhodes Island’s
Dawson Jones, a senior from Howell, N.J., and Lafayette’s Will
Halamandaris, a junior from Crownsville,
Md. Skae and Jones each carded a second consecutive 2-under 69 while
Halamandaris matched par with a 71 Tuesday after opening with a 67.
Rounding out the foursome tied for seventh along with
Drexel’s Cerbara and Cleveland State’s Supelak, were Lehigh’s Owen Quinn, a
junior from Holden, Mass., and Akron’s Beau Bayerl, a redshirt freshman from
Ashland, Ohio. Quinn added a 1-under 70 Tuesday to his opening-round 69 while
Bayerl, who was in second place after an opening-round 66, cooled off a little
with a 2-over 73 Tuesday.
Backing up Pulgini for Delaware was Roberto Nieves, a
freshman from Miami, Fla. who fired a sparkling 4-under 67 Tuesday after
opening with a 73 as he landed in the group tied for 11th at 2-under
140. Junior Jack Melville, who starred scholastically at Upper Dublin, gave the
Blue Hens a third sub-70 round Tuesday as he posted a 2-under 69 to finish in
the group tied for 21st at even-par 142.
Sophomore Nick Vecellio, a Northwestern Lehigh product,
added a 5-over 76 to his opening-round 73 to finish in the group tied for 63rd
at 7-overr 149. Rounding out the Delaware lineup was junior R.J. Wren, who
starred scholastically at Twin Valley and is an occasional Stonewall looper.
Wren recovered from an opening-round 81 with a counting 1-over 72 Tuesday that
left him in the group tied for 87th at 153.
It was the final tuneup for Delaware before the CAA
Championship, which tees off April 19 at the Pinehurst Resort’s No. 8 Course in
Pinehurst, N.C. Drexel will tee it up in the Finnegan Invitational, a one-day
event at LuLu Country Club Monday, in its final tuneup for the CAA
Championship.
The Dragons finished third behind North Carolina Wilmington
and the College of Charleston, which had won the last four CAA titles before
coming up short of the Seahawks last spring. Delaware finished sixth a year
ago. It will be interesting to see if Drexel has enough firepower to challenge
the traditional CAA powers for the conference title and a coveted NCAA regional
berth.
La Salle was led by Dragon Theam, a freshman from
Jacksonville, Fla. who added a 1-over 72 to his opening-round 73 to finish
among the group tied for 33rd at 3-over 145. Matt Werner, a freshman
from West Linn, Ore., added a 3-over 74 to his opening-round 72 to join the
group tied for 42nd at 4-over 146.
The rest of the La Salle lineup all landed among the group
tied for 55th at 6-over 148 as sophomore David Kim, a former Upper Dublin
standout, and Ron Fischang, a sophomore from McKinney, Texas, each added a
2-over 73 to an opening-round 75 and freshman Parker Wine, a Unionville
product, carded a 4-over 75 after opening with a 73.
Host Villanova was led by Connor Daly, the Wildcats’ veteran
junior from Bronxville, N.Y. who bettered par with a 1-under 70 after opening
with a 72 and finished among the group tied for 21st at even-par
142.
Reb Banas, a sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., added a 4-over
75 to his opening-round 73 to finish among the group tied for 55th
at 6-over 148. Mark Benevento, a redshirt junior from Ocean City, N.J., added a
3-over 74 to his opening-round 75 to finish among the group tie for 63rd
at 7-over 149.
A couple of head coach Jim Wilkes’ freshmen, Matt Davis, a
four-year standout at Malvern Prep, and Danny Dougherty, a Tower Hill product,
have taken their lumps this season, but Wilkes has continued to put them in the
lineup, likely with an eye to the future. Both carded a 5-over 76 Tuesday.
Davis, who had opened with a 74, finished among the group tied for 70th
at 8-over 150 and Dougherty, who had opened with a 75, joined the group tied
for 76th at 9-over 151.
Another freshman, Jack O’Hara, out of Loudonville, N.Y.,
competed as an individual and added a 79 to his opening-round 82 for a 161
total.
Villanova will also tee it up in the Finnegan Invitational
at LuLu Country Club Monday, the Wildcats’ final tuneup before the Big East
Championship, which doesn’t tee off until April 26 at Callawassie Island Golf
Club in Okatie, S.C.
Backing up Halamandaris for Lafayette was Ryan Tall, the
Central League champion as a junior at Conestoga and winner of the Golf
Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship last summer at Blue
Bell Country Club. Tall posted a 1-under 70 after opening with a 73 and was
among the group tied for 25th at 1-over 143.
Also for the Leopards, sophomore Cole Berger, a Westtown
School product, finished in the group tied for 50th at 5-over 147
after adding a 3-over 74 to his opening-round 73.
Monmouth moved up to eighth place in the team standings at
20-over 578 on the strength of a solid 4-under 280 Tuesday. The Hawks got a
boost from sophomore Ron Robinson, a North Penn product and winner of the 2016
Jock MacKenzie Memorial, one of GAP’s junior major championships. Robinson
matched par with a 71 Tuesday after opening with a 75 and finished among the
group tied for 42nd at 4-over 146.
Bucknell junior Peter Bradbeer, a Friend’s Central product
with a GAP major, the 2017 Patterson Cup, on his resume, added a 75 to his
opening-round 73 to finish among the group tied for 55th at 6-over
148.
Bison sophomore Chris Tannabe, the 2016 PIAA Class AA
champion as a senior at Quaker Valley, bounced back from an opening-round 77
with a 2-over 73 Tuesday that left him in the group tied for 70th at
8-over 150. Tannabe was coming off an individual victory in last week’s Abarta Coco-Cola
Collegiate Invitational at the Steel Club in Hellertown.
Bucknell closed with a 12-over 296 to finish alone in 17th
place at 22-over 590.
Also in the field was Fordham senior Josh Mandarang, a Downingtown
East product who added a 7-over 78 to his opening-round 76 for a 154 total. The
Rams closed with a 301 to finish 19th at 28-over 596.
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