Freshman Mark Goetz recorded his second career top-10 finish to lead the WVU golf team at the Cabarrus Country Irish Creek Collegiate, hosted by Charlotte and Davidson at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, N.C., on April 8.
WVU posted a three-round team score of 290-298-290=878 for 26 over par. The Mountaineers’ score of 290 in the third round was the second-best of the day.
“The first few holes played extremely difficult for us this morning,” head coach Sean Covich said. “Where we started, we had to play dead into that north wind with temperatures near freezing. After that rough start, our guys really battled back. I’m proud of their effort. They fought until the end and had great attitudes out there with three rounds in adverse conditions.”
No. 15 Clemson took home top team honors at seven over with an 859, while No. 29 North Florida was the runner-up at nine over with a score of 861. No. 4 Georgia Tech took third at 15 over (867), and Big 12 foe Kansas was fourth at 22 over (874).
After posting scores of 71-70 on the first day of action, Goetz countered a pair of bogeys with two birdies to move into second place for a good portion of Sunday’s play. However, a double-bogey on his final hole put him at two-over par with a 73. He finished tied for fourth place at one over with a 54-hole total of 214.
Playing as an individual, freshman Logan Perkins finished tied for eighth. He shot 69-73-74=216 for a new career low, shooting three-over par.
Shooting 74-76 in the first two rounds, junior Max Sear rebounded with five birdies on the day. He finished even-par at 70, shooting seven-over par across three rounds with a score of 220. Sear moved 16 spots in the standings to break into the top-25 and tie for 24th place.
Sophomore Etienne Papineau also struggled into the second rounds, but responded with a 72 to finish one over in the third round. He shot 72-78-72=222, using four birdies in the final round to move into 36th place at nine-over par. Papineau tied with freshman Matthew Sharpstene, who shot 73-74-75=222 to also finish at nine over.
Junior Tristan Nicholls rounded out the group. He shot 76-78-81=235, finishing 22-over-par and in 72nd place.
WVU heads to rival Penn State next weekend for the Rutherford Intercollegiate at the Penn State Blue Golf Course in State College, Pa., on Saturday and April 15.
Tennis
The Mountaineers fell to No. 16 Kansas, 4-0, on April 8, at Summit Tennis Academy.
WVU (7-9, 1-4 Big 12) began the match by dropping the doubles point, as Kansas took two of the three matches to take the early 1-0 lead. On the first court, Christina Jordan and Sofia Duran fell to No. 83 Tatiana Nikolaeva and Nina Khmelnitckaia, 6-2. The Jayhawks then claimed the doubles point with K.U.’s Despoina Vogasari and Maria Toran-Ribes defeating Giovanna Caputo and Anne-Sophie Courteau, 6-2, at No. 3.
The match between Lyn Yuen Choo and Paula Goetz and K.U.’s Janet Koch and Amber Policare was knotted at three-all when the match was abandoned due to clinch rules.
“Unfortunately, this was one of those days where we couldn’t, and didn’t, get much going,” fifth-year head coach Miha Lisac said. “We had some individual performances that were better, like at No. 2 doubles. We had some individual performances where the girls found ways to battle back and to stay in matches, but that wasn’t consistent across the board and the result is reflective of that.”
The Jayhawks would then win the first three singles matches to win the contest, 4-0. At No. 4, Goetz fell to Toran Ribes, 6-2 and 6-0, and Jordan lost to No. 66 Vogasari, 6-3 and 6-0, on the first court as KU took a commanding 3-0 lead.
Koch clinched the match for the Jayhawks when she defeated Courteau, 6-3 and 6-4, on the second court to give Kansas the 4-0 win.
The match between Choo and No. 116 Khmelnitckaia was in the second set when the match was abandoned due to clinch rules. The matches at No. 5 and No. 6 were also abandoned due to clinch rules.
“Kansas came out and played sharp,” Lisac said. “We are at home — this isn’t the easiest situation for them to be in, especially playing without their top player, but everybody they had in the lineup was sharp today.”
WVU will hit the road for a two-match road swing through the Lone Star State, as it takes on Baylor, on Friday, and Texas, on April 15. April 13’s match is slated for 6 p.m., while first serve for April 15’s contest is set for 2:30 p.m.
