The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Golf Finishes Fifth at MAC Championship
May 04 | Men's Golf
Nashport, Ohio-Falling one spot from Saturday, the University of Akron men's golf team finished the 2008 Mid-American Conference Championships in fifth place on a sunny Sunday afternoon tallying a four-round score of 1,204 (299-305-200-301) on par-72, 7,224-yard Longaberger Golf Club.
"Fifth place was kind of bittersweet for us today," said head
coach Nick Goetze. "Before the round we were fired up to have a
strong start and we felt like third place was in reach. We finally
produced the birdie round we wanted out of the gates, but I think
we got out of our routine at the turn. Tentative swings and putts
caused a lot of unforced bogeys and it took several holes to get
our rhythm back. Thankfully, we made some clutch par saves on the
closing holes to hold our position."
Finishing first for Akron was senior Colin
Clemente who after ending day two in first place fell three
spots to finish fourth overall posting a 290 (+2) carding four
rounds of 72-73-70-75 over the three-day tournament. Bettering his
2007 MAC Championship mark by five, Clemente's solid performance
all season and this weekend earned him first team All-MAC honors
and a spot on the MAC All-Tournament team.
Sophomore Jacob Patte and freshman Drew Davidson followed Clemente each finishing in the top-25. Patte finished solo at 23rd with four rounds of 78-76-75-76 (305) and just a stroke behind Patte was Davidson who carded a 306 (75-77-80-74) on the weekend.
Senior Ryan Gutowski and freshman Doug Underwood rounded out the Zips scorecard finishing respectively in 27th and tied for 32nd overall. Gutowski posted a 307 (75-79-77-76) and Underwood finished with a four round total of 311 (77-80-77-77).
"Although Clemente and Gutowski didn't have the final rounds they would've liked, I was happy with the way our seniors hung tough to the end," said Goetze. "In particular, Clemente's fourth place capped off a very successful year. I couldn't be more proud of Clemente and Gutowski and we're definitely going to miss them in our line up next season."
"As for our younger guys, I felt good about their results in the
championship. Patte, Underwood and Davidson all learned valuable
lessons about what they'll have to improve on from a mental and
physical standpoint to achieve more under intense pressure. They
will form the core of our next generation for Zips golf and I know
they will continue to represent us with class."
The Zips finish tied their second best performance to date as
they also ended in fifth at the 1993 MAC tournament. In the history
of the program, Akron's best finish came last year when the Zips
finished second overall with three top-10 finishers.
Taking home the team title was tournament host Eastern Michigan which won the event for the second straight year posting a overall 1,171 (+19). Ciaran McAleavey of Toledo was the individual winner carding 286 (-2).
Players Mentioned
