Behind individual champion Kewalramani, Boston College claims team title in Connecticut Cup

    Boston College is in over its head when it competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference in golf.

   But get the Eagles in with some of their fellow Northeasterners in Connecticut with the first few days of April feeling more like the middle of February and they’re pretty tough.

   It wasn’t ideal golf weather for the Connecticut Cup, hosted by UConn at the Ellington Ridge Country Club in Ellington, Conn., but Boston College thrived in the early-spring chill, cruising to a 21-shot margin of victory over the Huskies to capture the team crown behind individual winner Brendon Kewalramani, a senior from Simi Valley, Calif., as the event wrapped up Saturday.

   Kewalramani was steady throughout, carding a pair of 1-over 73s before matching par in Saturday’s final round with a 72 over the 6,936-yard, par-72 Ellington Ridge layout to finish with a 2-over 218 total, one shot ahead of runnerup Justin Burkhamer, a senior at  Iona from Palm City, Fla.

   Kewalramani led a parade of four Boston College finishers inside the top five as the Eagles dominated the Connecticut Cup. They took the lead with a 5-over 293 in Thursday’s opening round and added a 3-over 291 in Friday’s second round when the cold and wind was doing their worst and then closed with another 3-over 291 for a 12-over 218 total.

   Connecticut, which rejoined the Big East and left the tough American Athletic Conference behind, only trailed Boston College by five shots after opening with a 10-over 298. The Huskies fell 16 shots behind the Eagles with a 302 in Friday’s second. UConn closed with an 8-over 296 to claim runnerup honors with a 32-over 896 total.

   It was an interesting battle for third place between the City 6’s best two programs with Temple inching ahead late to edge Drexel by a shot for third. The Owls added an 11-over 299 to their opening-round 302 and closed with a 301 for a 38-over 902 total that left them six shots behind UConn. Temple still plays out of the AAC that Connecticut left behind.

   Drexel, a Colonial Athletic Association representative, was tied for second place with UConn, a shot head of Temple after two rounds as the Dragons added a 299 to their opening-round 301. Drexel, which is having a decent spring considering it didn’t play any golf in the fall due to – what else – the coronavirus pandemic, then finished up with a 303 to end up a shot behind Temple in fourth place with a 39-over 903 total.

   Temple had finished five shots in front of Drexel in sixth place earlier in the week in the 43^rd Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate at Golden Horseshoe’s Gold Course in Williamsburg, Va. Like Drexel, the Owls were unable to compete in the fall portion of the wraparound 2020-2021 season, but are doing a good job of making up for all that lost time.

   Fordham, out of the Atlantic 10, was another 10 shots behind Drexel in fifth place in the 12-team field with a 49-over 913 total. The Rams got a little better each round, opening with a 307 and adding a 304 in Friday’s second round before closing with a 302.

   Backing up Kewalramani for Boston College were Jordan Warnock, a graduate student from Roebuck, S.C., and Patrick Wu, a senior from Taiwan, both of whom landed on 4-over 220 to share third place. Warnock added a pair of 1-over 73s to his opening-round 74 while Wu matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a pair of 2-over 74s.

   Nick Cummings, a sophomore from Weston, Mass., finished a shot behind his two teammates as he ended up in a tie for fifth place with Hartford’s Manuel Romero, a sophomore from Doral, Fla. who was competing as an individual, at 5-over 221. Cummings sandwiched a 1-over 73 in Friday’s second round with a pair of 74s.

   Rounding out the Boston College lineup was Kevin Paek, a senior from Glenview, Ill. who finished among the group tied for 16^th place at 10-over 226. Paek struggled in the opening round with an 82, but bounced back by matching par in each of the last two rounds with a pair of 72s.

   Iona’s Burkhamer matched the low round of the tournament, a 2-under 70, in Saturday’s final round, but couldn’t quite catch Kewalramani as he finished a shot behind the winner with a 3-over 219 total. Burkhamer opened with a 76 before adding a 1-over 73 in Friday’s second round.

   Hartford’s Romero grabbed the lead with an opening round of 1-under 71, but fell back with a 76 in Friday’s second round and closed with a 74 to get a share of fifth place with BC’s Cummings at 5-over 221.

   Drexel got a real nice showing from sophomore Liam Hart, who captured the 2017 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep. Hart sandwiched an even-par 72 in Friday’s second round with a pair of 75s to finish in a tie for seventh place with Connecticut’s Jared Nelson, a junior from Rutland, Vt. at 6-over 222. Nelson matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 76 before closing with a 74.

   Temple got a solid performance from Graham Chase, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C. who headed a group of four players tied for ninth place at 6-over 222. After opening with a 77, Chase matched par in the second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 2-over 74.

   Joining Chase in the quartet tied for ninth place at 5-over were a pair of UConn players, Rodrigo Sanchez, a senior from the Dominican Republic, and Logan Broyles, a sophomore from Mendon, Vt. who was competing as an individual, and Fordham’s John Kryscio, aa sophomore from Lake Forest, Ill.

   Sanchez added a pair of 2-over 74s to his opening-round 75 while Broyles sandwiched a 1-over 73 in Friday’s second round with a pair of 75s. Kryscio was tied for the lead with BC’s Kewalramani after two rounds as Kryscio matched par in Friday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 2-over 74. He cooled off in the final round with a 77.

   Backing up Chase for Temple was junior Conor McGrath, an Academy of the New Church product who finished in a tie for 13^th place at 8-over 224. After opening with a 76, McGrath added a 75 before closing with a 1-over 73. Senior Dawson Anders, a Souderton product and winner of the 2017 Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship, finished in the group tied for 25^th place at 228. Anders, coming of a solid tie for third place in the Golden Horseshoe, opened with a 2-over 74 and added a 75 before falling back in Saturday’s final round with a 79.

   Fifth-year player Peter Bradbeer, a Friends Central product, was a shot behind Anders in the group tied for 29^th place at 229. Bradbeer, who has a GAP major championship on his resume with his victory in the 2017 Joseph H. Patterson Cup, opened with a 3-over 75 before adding a pair of 77s. Bradbeer was a four-year standout at Bucknell and is taking a fifth year at Temple after the NCAA offered an extra year or eligibility to make up for the spring of 2020 lost to the pandemic.

   Junior Buddy Hansen, a standout with Catholic League power La Salle, struggled in the first two rounds, adding an 81 to his opening-round 83, bur finished up with a 77 to land among the group tied for 64^th place at 241.

   Temple coach Brian Quinn also brought along sophomore Andrew Curran, the 2018 Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual champion as a senior at Malvern Prep, to compete as an individual  and Curran finished alone in 67^th place at 242. After struggling to an 85 in the opening round, Curran carded an 81 in Friday’s second round before finishing up with a 4-over 76.

   Backing up Hart for Drexel was senior Connor Schmidt, a Peters Township product and winner of the 2918 Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Sunnehanna Country Club who joined Temple’s McGrath in the tie for 13^th place at 224. Schmidt opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 75 in Friday’s second round before closing with a 76.

   Jeffrey Cunningham, a senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., gave Drexel a third finisher inside the top 20 as he joined the group tied for 20^th place at 227. After opening with a 78, Cunningham posted a 1-over 73 in Friday’s second round before closing with a 76. Angelo Giantsopoulos, a senior from Canada, finished among the group tied for 33^rd place at 230 as he added a 79 to an opening round of 3-over 75 before finishing up with a 76.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was senior Alex Butler, a member of St. Joseph’s Prep’s 2014 PIAA Class AAA championship team. Butler added a 79 to his opening-round 78 before finishing up with a 77.

   Drexel head coach Ben Feld brought along senior Stephen Cerbara, winner of the 2015 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Holy Ghost Prep, to compete as individual. Cerbara joined his teammate Giantsopoulos in the group tied for 33^rd place at 230 as he added a pair of 76s to an opening-round 78.

   The second-highest finisher for Fordham was sophomore A.J. Aivazoglou, who helped The Haverford School claim Inter-Ac crowns in his final two years in 2017 and 2018. Aivazoglou, who plays out of Rolling Green Golf Club, was one of only a handful of players to pst a round under par at Ellington Ridge as he closed with a 1-under 71 to join the group tied for 16^th place at 10-over 226. Aivazoglou had opened with a 77 and added a 78 in Friday’s second round.

   I was on the bag for Aivazoglou in a U.S. Amateur qualifier at Stonewall in 2017 when he was still in high school. I was impressed with the left-hander’s talent then and it was nice to see him post a solid finish in the Connecticut Cup.