SEEKONK, Mass. – Rhode Island won the team title at the Ledgemont Match Play, defeating Merrimack and Holy Cross Saturday.
Junior
Aidan O'Donovan and sophomores
Tony Liu,
Seb Carlsson and
Owen Rooney each went 2-0 on the day to lead the Rams. Rhody defeated Merrimack 5.5-2.5 before knocking off Holy Cross 6.5-1.5 in the finals.
Playing at Ledgemont Country Club, the Rams began the day facing Merrimack. Carlsson defeated his opponent 4-and-2, while Liu, Rooney and O'Donovan all won by matching 1-up scores.
Sean Magarian scored a 6-and-5 victory for the fifth team point, and
Tyler Bruneau halved his match.
Against the Crusaders of Holy Cross,
Luke Stennett provided a 6-and-5 victory, while
Josiah Tong won his match 4-and-3. Liu grabbed his second win of the day with a 5-and-4 result, while Carlsson, Rooney and O'Donovan all carded 2-and-1 wins. For the second round in a row, Bruneau halved his match.
Rhode island head coach Gregg Burke said...
"This was a fun day for us and it was designed that way. I have enormous respect and affection for Steve Napoli of Holy Cross and just love Charlie Blanchard from Bryant after knowing him for 25 years.
"We knew coming into this what this would be - a bunch of friends bringing their teams to a late-Fall tournament. That said, we came at it like it was a national championship. Our ethic is that every time we put on the uniform, we represent almost 90 years of URI Golf and we owe it to the people who built this program to represent them.
"I thought we got really good days from Tony, Aidan, Seb, and Owen. We won 12 of 16 possible points, but to lose even one point was not representative of what we want, who we are, or how hard we work.
"We are appreciative of the ownership, leadership and membership of Ledgemont for allowing us to spend a great day of golf with good friends, but if we play in this again, we expect better results.
"It was a particularly painful day for me personally. I love playing Holy Cross and most every player I have met in my 25 years there represents everything I feel about my alma mater. But today I walked with just the heaviest heart, as my great mentor and hero, longtime Holy Cross Athletic Director Ron Perry, passed away yesterday."
