Nicholas finishes second, leads Drexel to third in the team standings in CAA Championship

   It wasn’t quite the first-place finish and NCAA regional berth it had hoped for, but Drexel capped a solid season by finishing in third place in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship, which wrapped up April 25^th at Dataw Island’s Cotton Dike Course on Saint Helena Island, S.C.

   And the Dragons got one last outstanding performance from Drue Nicholas, a junior from Egg Harbor Township, N.J. who was their best player all season. Nicholas, a St. Augustine Prep product, finished up with a 3-under-par 69 over the 6,998-yard, par-72 Cotton Dike layout to finish in second place in the individual chase with a 7-under 209 total.

   There would be no denying Patrick Sparks and North Carolina Wilmington, however. Sparks, a junior from Peru, rolled to the individual title with an 11-over 205 total that was four shots clear of Nicholas.

   After opening with a 4-under 68, Sparks erupted for a CAA Championship record 7-under 65 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   The Seahawks actually trailed Drexel by four shots after they opened with a 1-over 289, but, fueled by Sparks’ scintillating 65, UNCW matched the CAA Championship single-round record with a 15-under 273 in the second round to take a commanding 16-shot lead over the Dragons into the final round.

   UNCW closed with a solid 1-under 287 for a 15-under 849 total that gave the Seahawks their eighth CAA crown and a spot in the NCAA’s Norman Regional, where they will the 11 seed.

   Elon closed with the best round of the day in the final round, a 10-under 278, to overtake Drexel for second place with a 6-under 858 total that left the Phoenix nine shots behind UNCW. Elon had struggled to a 10-over 298 in the opening round, but bounced back with a 6-under 282 total before its strong finish.

   Drexel had grabbed the lead after opening with a 3-under 285. The Dragons added a 5-over 293 in the second round before closing with a 6-over 294 to finish in third place with an 8-over 872 total that was 14 shots behind Elon.

   Defending CAA champion College of Charleston and William & Mary finished in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 14-over 878 total that left them six shots behind Drexel.

   College of Charleston carried the CAA banner all the way to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. by advancing out of the Palm Beach Regional a year ago. The Cougars matched par in the second round at Dataw Island with a 288 after opening with a 3-over 291 before finishing up with an 11-over 299.

   After opening with an 8-over 296, the Tribe added a 2-over 290 in the second round before finishing up with a 4-over 292.

   Delaware finished in sixth place in the 10-team field with a 20-over 884 total as the Blue Hens bounced back from an opening-round 300 with a 3-over 291 in the second round before closing with a 5-over 293.

   Backing up Sparks for UNCW was Walker Isley, a junior from Oak Island, N.C. who finished in a tie for third place with Elon’s Matt Doyle, a sophomore from Summerville, S.C., each landing on 4-under 212, three shots behind Drexel’s Nicholas.

   Isley struggled to a 4-over 76 in the opening round before contributing a 5-under 67 to the Seahawks’ second-round surge and then closing with a solid 3-under 69.

   Rone Bokeid, a freshman from Norway, gave UNCW a third finisher in the top seven in the individual standings as he finished alone in seventh place with a 1-under 215 total. Bokeid sandwiched a 3-under 69 in the second round with a pair of 1-over 73s.

   Bokeid’s fellow Norwegian, Sander Akeren, a junior, finished among the group tied for 18^th place with a 6-over 222 total as he bounced back from an opening-round 77 by matching par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the UNCW lineup was Gray Mitchum, a freshman from Greenville, N.C. who finished among the group tied  for 22^nd place with an 8-over 224 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Mitchum added a 1-over 73 in the second round before struggling to a 79 in the final round.

   Nicholas took some momentum into the wraparound 2022-2023 college season by winning the Patterson Cup, one of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s major championships, in a playoff with Michael R. Brown Jr. at St. Davids Golf Club last summer.

   He was solid all season for Ben Feld’s Dragons and finished the spring in style with his runnerup finish at Dataw Island. Nicholas had finished in a tie for fourth place while leading Drexel to third in the team standings at Dataw Island a year ago.

   Nicholas opened with a 1-under 71 in this year’s CAA Championship and added a 3-under 69 in the second round. Nobody was going to catch Sparks, but Nicholas’ solid final-round 69 enabled him to earn a runnerup finish.

   Elon’s Doyle shared third place with UNCW’s Isley at 4-under as Doyle matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 3-under 69 in the second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Doyle’s teammate Landon Durham, a freshman from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., shared fifth place with defending CAA individual champion Kieron van Wyk, a sophomore at College of Charleston from South Africa, each landing on 2-under 214.

   Durham bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 76 with a sparkling 4-under 68 in the second round before finishing up with a 2-under 70.

   Van Wyk was the driving force in the Cougars’ run to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk a year ago. He added a 3-under 69 in the second round to his opening round of 2-under 70 before falling back a little in the final round with a 3-over 75.

   Van Wyk will represent College of Charleston in the NCAA Salem Regional, hosted by Clemson at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls, where he will compete as an individual.

   William & Mary’s Trevor Binau, a senior from Columbus, Ohio, finished a shot behind UNCW’s Bokeid in eighth place with an even-par 216 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Binau carded a 1-under 71 in the second round before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Jack Halleron, a junior from Timonium, Md., gave Delaware a top-10 finisher as he shared ninth place with Elon’s Bronson Myers, a senior from Columbia, S.C., each ending up two shots behind Binau at 2-over 218.

   After opening with a 3-over 75, Halleron recorded a solid 3-under 69 in the second round before closing with a 2-over 74. Myers gave Elon a third finisher in the top nine as he added a 2-over 74 in the second round to his opening-round 75 before finishing strong with a 3-under 69.

   Backing up Nicholas for Drexel was the pair of Griffin Mitchell, a junior from New Albany, Ohio, and Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa, a junior from Zimbabwe, as they each landed in the group tied for 13^th place at 4-over 220.

   Mitchell sandwiched a 4-over 76 in the second round with a pair of even-par 72s. Nyamukondiwa posted back-to-back 2-over 74s in the first two rounds before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Brockton English, a sophomore from Shelby Township, Mich., finished in a tie for 25^th place with a 9-over 225 total as he got off to a great start with a 3-under 69 in the opening round and added a 2-over 74 in the second round before struggling to an 82 in the final round.

   Senior Liam Hart, the PIAA Class AAA champion in 2017 as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep, played the first two rounds at Dataw Island, opening with a solid 1-over 73 and adding a 4-over 76 in the second round. Feld subbed in Oscar Maxfield, a graduate student from Salt Lake City, Utah, for the final round and Maxfield registered an 81.

   Backing up Halleron for Delaware was Michal Bargenda, a senior from Poland who finished in the group tied for 13^th place with a 4-over 220 total. After struggling to a 78 in the opening round, Bargenda added a 3-over 75 in the second round before easily taking low-Blue Hen honors in the final round with a sizzling 5-under 67.

   Casper Nerpin, a freshman from Sweden, shared 25^th place with Drexel’s English with a 9-over 225 total. Nerpin struggled to a 78 in the opening round before adding a 2-over 74 in the second round and closing with a solid 1-over 73.

   Xiong Da, a sophomore from China, finished in the group tied for 27^th place with a 10-over 226 total as he opened with a solid 1-over 73, added a 2-over 74 in the second round and struggled a little in the final round with a 79.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Sparky Ariyachatvakin, a junior from Thailand who finished alone in 31^st place with a 228 total as he carded back-to-back 2-over 74s in the first two rounds before struggling a little in the final round with an 80.