Van Wyk, Ruiter lead the College of Charleston to CAA crown; Drexel finishes third

    Behind an impressive performance by individual champion Kieron van Wyk, a freshman from South Africa, the College of Charleston captured the team title in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship for the second straight year at the Dataw Island Club’s Cotton Dike Course on Saint Helena Island, S.C.

   The Cougars, the CAA’s highest-ranked team by Golfstat at No. 53, finished 17 shots clear of runnerup North Carolina-Wilmington with a 27-under 837 total in the CAA Championship, which wrapped up April 26^th. The College of Charleston’s sixth CAA title since 2014 earned the Cougars a spot in the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional, where they will be seeded ninth.

   The College of Charleston opened with a solid 7-under 281 over the 6,787-yard, par-72 Cotton Dike Course and pulled away in the second round with a sparkling 14-under 274. The Cougars closed with a 6-under 282 to cruise to the team crown.

   Van Wyk trailed his teammate, Nevill Ruiter, a freshman from The Netherlands, by a shot after van Wyk opened with a 3-under 69. Van Wyk still trailed Ruiter by three shots after Ruiter had the best round of the tournament, a 7-under 65, in the second round while van Wyk carded a solid 5-under 67.

   But van Wyk kept pouring it on, carding a second straight 5-under 67 in the final round for a 13-under 203 total. Ruiter cooled off a little in the final round with a 1-over 73 to give the College of Charleston a 1-2 finish atop the individual leaderboard as he was the runnerup with a 10-under 206 total.

   UNCW added a 7-under 281 in the second round to its opening-round 283 as the Seahawks trailed the College of Charleston by nine shots going into the final round. UNCW closed with a 4-over 292 for an 8-under 856 total that earned runnerup honors for the Seahawks.

   It was a second straight strong showing in the CAA Championship for the Philadelphia area’s top Division I team, Drexel, as the Dragons finished six shots behind UNCW in third place with a 2-under 862 total. Drexel won the team title in the City 6 Championship at Llanerch Country Club to conclude the fall portion of the wraparound 2021-2022 season.

   Drexel had been the runnerup to the College of Charleston a year ago at the Dataw Island Club.

   Elon was six shots behind Drexel in fourth place with a 4-over 868 total as the Phoenix bounced back from an opening round of 6-over 294 by matching par in the second round with a 288 and finishing up with a 2-under 286.

   It was another 20 shots back to Delaware in fifth place with a 14-over 878 total as the Blue Hens added a 1-over 289 in the second round to their opening-round 293 before closing with a 296.

   Backing up van Wyk and Ruiter for the College of Charleston was the defending individual champion, Zach Reuland, a sophomore from Rock Hill, S.C. who finished in a tie for fourth place with a 4-under 212 total. Reuland added a 3-under 69 in the second round to his opening-round 71 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Jack Parrott, a graduate student from Columbia, S.C., gave the College of Charleston four players inside the top 20 as he finished among the group tied for 20^th place with a 5-over 221 total. Parrott registered back-to-back 1-over 73s in the first two rounds before closing with a 75.

   The College of Charleston split up the fifth spot in its lineup between Ty Sullivan, a freshman from Canada, and Tim Bertenbreiter, a freshman from Germany. Sullivan carded a 5-over 77 in the opening round before giving way to Bertenbreiter, who posted a 1-over 73 in the second round and contributed a counting 2-under 70 for the Cougars in the final round.

   UNCW’s Walker Isley, a sophomore from Oak Island, N.C., finished alone in third place in the individual standings, five shots behind the College of Charleston’s Ruiter with a 5-under 211 total. After opening with a 4-under 68, Isley matched par in the second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 1-under 71.

   Drue Nicholas, the Egg Harbor Township, N.J. resident and St. Augustine Prep product, capped an outstanding sophomore season for Drexel as he joined the College of Charleston’s Reuland in the tie for fourth place at 4-under 212. Nicholas was steady, sandwiching a 2-under 70 in the second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.

   Elon’s Garrett Risner, a sophomore from Holly Springs, N.C., finished a shot behind Reuland and Nicholas in sixth place with a 3-under 213 total. Risner sandwiched a 73 in the second round with a pair of 2-under 70s.

   Drexel’s Angelo Giantsopoulos, a senior from Canada, capped an outstanding season as he headed a trio of players tied for seventh place at 2-under 214. Giantsopoulos, a co-medalist in the City 6 Championship last fall at Llanerch, struggled to a 4-over 76 in the opening round before carding back-to-back 3-under 69s in the final two rounds. Giantsopoulos finished in a tie for second in the CAA Championship a year ago.

   Joining Giantsopoulos at 2-under were James Madison’s Daniel Cheng, a freshman from Bradenton, Fla., and UNCW’s Patrick Sparks, a sophomore from Peru.

   James Madison is leaving the CAA for the Sun Belt Conference and the CAA responded to the move by not allowing the Dukes to compete for the team championship in any sport, so Cheng was competing as an individual. After opening with a 2-under 70, Cheng matched par with 72s in each of the final two rounds.

   Sparks registered back-to-back 3-under 69s in the first two rounds before backing off a little with a final-round 76.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings were two players tied for 10^th place at even-par 216, including Delaware’s Sparky Ariyachatvakin, a sophomore from Thailand, and William & Mary’s Trevor Binau, a junior from Columbus, Ohio.

   After opening with a 1-over 73, Ariyachatvakin carded a solid 4-under 68 before finishing up with a 75. After opening with a 74, Binau posted a 2-under 70 in the second round before matching par with a 72 in the final round.

   Backing up Nicholas and Giantsopoulos for Drexel was Griffin Mitchell, a sophomore from New Albany, Ohio who finished among the group tied for 23^rd place with a 6-over 222 total. Mitchell led the field following a sparkling opening round of 5-under 67. He couldn’t maintain the momentum of his fast start as he added a 75 in the second round before struggling to an 80 in the final round.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup were Jeffrey Cunningham, a senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., and Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa, a junior from Zimbabwe, both of whom landed in the group tied for 26^th place at 7-over 223.

   Cunningham, who finished in fifth place in the CAA Championship at Dataw Island a year ago, added a 2-over 74 to his opening-round 76 before finishing up with a 1-over 73. After opening with a 77, Nyamukondiwa carded a solid 2-under 69 before closing with a 76.

   Backing up Ariyachatvakin for Delaware was Roberto Nieves, the Blue Hens’ veteran senior from Miami, Fla. who finished among the group tied for 13^th place with a 2-over 218 total. Nieves opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the second before finishing up with a 75.

   Michal Bargenda, a junior from Poland, closed with a flourish, firing a 3-under 69 in the final round to join the group tied for 20^th place with a 5-over 221 total. Bargenda had opened with a 77 before adding a 75 in the second round. Egor Zubov, a freshman from Russia, posted back-to-back 1-over 73s in the first two rounds before closing with a 77 that left him in the group tied for 26^th place with a 223 total.

   Jack Halleron, a sophomore from Timonium, Md., registered back-to-back 78s in the first two rounds before Owen Manchester, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., got a shot in the Delaware lineup for the final round and posted an 82.

   James Madison senior Neal Shipley, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s PIAA Class AAA championship team in 2018, had a strong showing on the Cotton Dike Course as he opened with a solid 3-under 69, added a 2-over 74 in the second round and closed with a 75 to land in the group tied for 13^th place with a 2-over 218 total.