The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Golf Heads to California Looking for Win No. 2
September 22 | Men's Golf
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AKRON, Ohio – Looking to build on a season-opening win at the Golfweek Program Challenge on September 10, The University of Akron men's golf team travels to Seaside, Calif., for the 2013 Saint Mary's Invitational.
The win, Akron's first since 2011, propelled the Zips to the No. 59 spot in this week's Golfstat rankings. The No. 59 ranking is the highest in school history for the Zips, bettering Akron's previous high of 89th during the 2010-11 campaign.
Akron will look to build on its rankings beginning on Monday at the Bayonet (par-72, 7,104 yards) and Blackhorse (par-72, 7,024 yards) Golf Courses. The Zips are one of five Golfstat Top-100 teams in the field, including No. 19 North Carolina State, 2012 NCAA Championship Semifinalist and 29th-ranked California, No. 90 Oregon and Mid-American Conference foe and 94th-ranked Ball State.
The rest of the field includes Cal State Northridge, Florida Gulf Coast, Fresno State, Hawaii, Kansas State, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's (Calif.), St. Johns, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
Play will begin at 11 a.m. ET with a shotgun start at Bayonet Golf Course. Play will continue on Blackhorse Golf Course for round two immediately following the conclusion of the opening 18 holes. Play will conclude on Tuesday, with the final round set to begin at 11 a.m. on Bayonet Golf Course. Fans can follow all the action live via Golfstat Live Scoring.
The Zips return to action following a five-stroke, come-from-behind victory at the Golfweek Program Challenge.
Sitting in third place and down seven strokes entering the final round, Akron mounted a furious comeback, taking a share of the lead just before the turn and taking the top spot out-right through 12 holes. The squad would not look back after that point.
The win was the 27th in program history and the first since the Zips won the Illini Classic on April 17, 2011. The victory is also the first for third-year head coach David Trainor.
UA finished the event with a three-day tally of 856 (-8), posting three-straight rounds under par. IUPUI finished in second place (861, -3) with James Madison rounding out the top-three in third place (862, -2).
Akron played solid all week, sitting inside the top-three after each of the first two rounds. James Madison held the lead for the first 36 holes before the Zips made their move.
Sophomore Carr Vernon, on the heels of a strong showing at last month's U.S. Amateur, spearheaded Akron's climb up the leaderboard with a career-low round of 4-under 68 to finish tied for third place (211, -5).
Freshman J.B. Williams, playing in his first collegiate event, flirted with individual medalist honors, but finished in second place with a 54-hole score of 209 (-7). He closed out the event with a steady round of even-par 72.
Players Mentioned
