The College of Charleston rolls to CAA Championship crown; Drexel finishes second

    The College of Charleston will have starting times May 17 at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. as it earned a 12^th seed in the NCAA’s Stillwater Regional with a runaway victory in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship, which concluded April 27 at the Dataw Island Club’s Colton Dike Course in Helena Island, S.C.

   It was the first CAA crown for the Cougars, No. 81 in the latest Golfstat rankings, since they joined the conference in 2013.

   The College of Charleston finished six shots behind North Carolina-Wilmington in second place the last time the CAA Championship was contested in 2019 at the Pinehurst Resort’s No. 8 Course in Pinehurst Village, N.C. UNC-Wilmington, however, was forced to withdraw from the CAA Championship due to coronavirus protocols. The Seahawks, ranked 53^rd, still got an NCAA berth as they were given a No. 9 seed in the Noblesville Regional at The Sagamaore Club in Noblesville, Ind.

   The way the College of Charleston handled the Cotton Dike Course, UNC-Wilmington might have had its hands full with the Cougars in the CAA Championship.

   With Zach Reuland, a freshman from Rock Hill, S.C., cruising to a five-shot individual victory and teammate Logan Sowell, a senior from Kershaw, S.C., sharing second place with Drexel’s Angelo Giantsopolous, a senior from Canada, the College of Charleston rolled to a 23-shot victory over the Dragons.

   The Cougars jumped out with a 12-under 276 in the opening round April 25 and added a 7-under 281 in the second round April 26 before closing with an 11-under 277 that left them with a 30-under 834 total, a CAA Championship record for 54 holes.

   Drexel head coach Ben Feld had to be pretty happy with Drexel’s runnerup finish, the highest finish ever for the Dragons in the CAA Championship. Drexel only trailed the College of Charleston by five shots after opening with a 7-under 281. The Dragons backed off a little with a 5-over 293 in the second round before bouncing back with a 5-under 283 in the final round that left them with an 8-under 857 total.

   James Madison was 13 shots behind Drexel in third place with a 6-over 870 total. After opening with a 292, the Dukes added a 2-over 290 before matching par in the final round with a 288. William & Mary was eight shots behind James Madison in fourth place at 13-over 878 as the Tribe shaved 10 shots off their opening-round 295 with a 3-under 285 in the second round before struggling to a final-round 298.

   Elon was three shots behind William & Mary in fifth place with a 17-over 881 total as the Phoenix improved by nine shots from their opening-round 298 with a 1-over 289 in the second round before closing with a 294. Delaware finished in sixth place in the eight-team field with a 29-over 893 total that left the Blue Hens 12 shots behind Elon. Delaware struggled a little in the opening with a 304 before adding a 5-over 293 in the second and finishing up with a 296.

   Reuland took control of the individual chase with his second straight 4-under 68 over the 6,787-yard, par-72 Cotton Dike Course. He had trailed teammate Christian Boliker, a senior from Greenville, S.C., after the opening round as Boliker lit up the Cotton Dike Course to the tune of an 8-under 64. Boliker, however, backed off in the second round with a 3-over 75.

   Reuland closed with the best round of the final day, a 5-under 67 for a 13-under 203 total.

   Reuland’s teammate Sowell got a little better each day as he added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 71 and finished up with a 4-under 68 to get his piece of runnerup honors at 8-under 205.

   Boliker gave the College of Charleston three finishers among the top four as he closed with a 1-over 73 to finish alone in fourth place with a 4-under 212 total. Michael Sass, a senior from Louisville, Ky., made it four Cougars inside the top seven as he sandwiched a 3-under 69 with a pair of 73s to join a group of four players tied for seventh place at 1-under 215.

   Rounding out the College of Charleston lineup was Hunter Dunagan, a senior from Augusta, Ga. who finished alone in 16^th place with a 4-over 220 total. After opening with a 73, Dunagan struggled a little in the second round with a 78 before finishing strong with a 3-under 69.

   It's been a solid spring for Giantsopoulos and he capped it by sandwiching a 70 in the second round with a pair of 3-under 69s to get a share of runnerup honors with the College of Charleston’s Sowell at 8-under 208.

   Giantsopoulos’ fellow Dragon, Jeffrey Cunningham, a senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., finished a shot behind the College of Charleston’s Baliker in fifth place with a 3-under 213 total. After opening with a 71, Cunningham struggled a little with a 74 in the second round before bouncing back in the final round with a 4-under 68.

   Leading the way for Delaware was Roberto Nieves, a senior from Miami, Fla. who finished a shot behind Cunningham in sixth place at 2-under 214. Nieves sandwiched a 2-under 70 in the second round with a pair of even-par 72s.

   Drexel sophomore Liam Hart, the 2017 PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep, also capped a nice spring for the Dragons as he landed in the group tied for seventh place at 1-under 215 that included the College of Charleston’s Sass, Delaware’s Hugo Kedzlie, a sophomore from England, and James Madison’s Walker Cress, a redshirt senior from Concord, N.C.

   Hart got off to a quick start with a 3-under 69 in the opening round. He matched par in the second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 74.

   Kedzlie added a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72 to join the group at 1-under. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Cress added a 73 in the second round before finishing up with a 2-under 70.

   Senior Alex Butler, a junior on St. Joseph’s Prep’s 2014 PIAA Class AAA championship team, gave Drexel a fourth finisher inside the top 20 as he ended up among the group tied for 19^th place at 7-over 223. Butler, too, capped a solid spring for the Dragons as he opened with a 74 and added a 77 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was senior Connor Schmidt, who starred scholastically at Peters Township and captured the 2018 Pennsylvania Amateur crown at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown. Schmidt, who finished in a tie for fifth place in the CAA Championship two springs ago at Pinehurst No. 8, matched par in the opening round with a 72, but struggled to an 82 in the second round before closing with a 74 that left him a tie for 25^th place at 228.

   Schmidt, who took up the NCAA on its offer of a fifth year of eligibility to make up for the spring of his senior season lost to the pandemic, has been a mainstay in Feld’s lineup for five seasons and his performance in the CAA Championship completed one of the finest careers in the history of the program.

   Delaware senior R.J. Wren, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Twin Valley, closed out his career with the Blue Hens as he finished among the group tied for 29^th place with a 230 total. After opening with a 79, Wren added a 77 in the second round before finishing up with a 2-over 74.

   Owen Manchester, a freshman from England, finished alone in 32^nd place at 234 for Delaware as he added a 76 to his opening-round 80 before closing with a 78. Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Elliot Haas, a freshman from Dickerson, Md. who never got it going at the Cotton Dike Course, adding an 88 to his opening-round 83 and finishing up with a 90 to end up in 40^th place at 261.

   James Madison redshirt freshman Neal Shipley, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2018 PIAA Class AAA championship team. picked up a top-20 finish as he landed among the group tied for 19^th place at 7-over 223. Shipley matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 75 in the second round before closing with a 76.