Paul McBride.
WAKE FOREST ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
By John Manley
Nobody had a lower aggregate score from the first and third rounds of the Querencia Cabo Collegiate than did Paul McBride. The Wake Forest junior from Malahide, Dublin posted scores of 65 and 67 in those rounds, respectively. But his 76 in the second round set him back and denied him the spoils of victory in Los Cabo, Mexico. Instead, he settled back into a share of 11th place, four strokes off the winning score belonging to Washington's Corey Pereira. The winner's coach is Alan Murray, formerly of Bray, Co. Wicklow. Wake Forest and Washington shared third place, however, 22 strokes behind victorious Oklahoma State.
The Bethune-Cookman duo of Daniel Brennan and Darragh Crawford showed well in the Gary Freeman Spring Invitational at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. Brennan, a junior from Shannon, Co. Clare, tied for 11th place at 11-over-par 227 (75-72-80), while Crawford, a sophomore from Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, shot 230 (72-77-81) to garner a share of 14th place. Lynn University's Martin Cancino and Manuel Torres shared medal honors with a score of 217.
Oakland University's Marc Norton finished joint-19th in the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C. The Belfast sophomore shot rounds of 73, 76 and 74 to finish seven strokes over par and 11 in back of Radford's Myles Creighton, the medalist.
Toledo's Stephen Watts tied for 35th place in the Louisiana Classics at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, La. Watts, a junior from Larne, Co. Antrim, shot rounds of 73, 76 and 77, which left him 10 strokes over par and 20 off the low mark established by Sam Burns of Louisiana State.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Leona Maguire shot three consecutive rounds of 72 to earn a share of sixth place in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Long Cove in Hilton Head, S.C. The Duke junior from Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan finished three strokes over par for the event and 11 behind medalist Cheyenne Knight of Alabama. Further down the leaderboard came Arizona State’s Olivia Mehaffey, a Belfast freshman, who tied for 21st place at 221 (75-71-75) and Lisa Maguire, twin sister to Leona, who finished joint-71st at 234 (73-85-76). Duke finished two strokes behind Alabama for team honors.
In a field of 80 golfers, Weber State’s Michelle Tierney earned a share of 35th place in the Red Rocks Invitational at Oakcreek Country Club in Sedona, Ariz. Tierney, a junior from Waterford, posted rounds of 79, 79 and 74, which put her 16 strokes over par and 28 behind Sofia Anokhina of Northern Arizona, who won with an 11-stroke cushion.
TRACK & FIELD
Oklahoma City’s Sara Moore finished third in the women’s 1,000 meters at the NAIA Indoor Championships in Johnson City, Tenn. The senior from Omagh cranked out a 2:55.24 time in a race won by Adri Sigafoose of Aquinas in 2:50.74.
Providence College senior Hugh Armstrong got fourth place in the 3,000 meters at the IC4A Championships in Boston. The runner from Ballina, Co. Mayo produced a time of 8:09.22 in a race won by Cornell’s Dominic DeLuca in 8:06.60. Providence’s Aaron Hanlon, a junior from Drogheda, checked in 15th in 8:24.90. Wagner’s Liam Harris, a freshman from Cork, placed sixth in the 5,000 meters, timed in 14:22.22. Liberty’s Azaria Kirwa won the race in 14:11.36.
GYMNASTICS
Bowling Green dominated the beam in a dual meet with Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. on Sunday. India McPeak, a junior from Bangor, Co. Down, was one of three Falcons to earn an average of 9.850 from the judges in that event, the only one that she contested. Ultimately, the home team won, 195.600-193.600.
TENNIS
Miami junior Sinead Lohan, ranked seventh in Division 1, won two singles matches to lead the Hurricanes to victories over North Carolina State, 4-3, and Wake Forest, 4-0. The Waterford miss defeated the Wolfpack’s Martina Frantova, 6-1, 6-1, and dispatched the Demon Deacons’ Kimmy Guerin, 6-2, 6-3, both at the top of the order.
The McCooey brothers helped Mercyhurst enjoy a 9-0 thrashing of Millersville in Erie, Pa. on Friday. Cormac McCooey defeated Noah Ginder, 6-1, 6-1, while older brother Conor handled Jordan Shultz, 6-0, 6-0. The Dubliners continued their winning ways on Saturday as the Lakes knocked off West Chester, 7-2. Cormac handled Keanu Travalino, 6-0, 6-1, and Conor defeated Gerald Mars, 6-0, 6-0. Then, it was on to West Virigina, where they took care of West Virginia State, 9-0. Cormac, a freshman who plays at no. 2, was a 6-1, 6-2 victor over Caleb Starkey, and Conor, a junior who plays at no. 5, breezed past Ethan Cross, 6-0, 6-0.
Wisconsin’s Osgar O’Hoisin was a three-time winner this past week, helping the Badgers to 7-0 victories at home over both Eastern Illinois and Marquette, and a 5-2 road win over Iowa. The Dublin sophomore was slotted at no. 3 against Eastern Illinois’ Marko Janjusic, whom he defeated, 6-1, 6-4. He was positioned at no. 4 against Marquette’s Nick Dykema, which resulted in a 6-2, 6-3 victory. He topped off the week with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Iowa’s Robin Haden at no. 4. O’Hoisin and John Zordani also won two of three doubles matches they contested at the third spot.
New Mexico’s Ruth Copas ascended to the top spot in the Lobos’ match with Cal State Northridge on Saturday and the Dundalk sophomore pulled out a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Kiryang Kim. Northridge won the match, however, 4-3.
Montana’s Peter Mimnagh-Fleming split his matches at third singles over the weekend, defeating Southern Utah’s Guy Feigin, 6-4, 7-6, but losing to Northern Arizona’s Lucas Taylor, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. The Grizzlies defeated Southern Utah, 7-0, but lost to Northern Arizona, 4-3.
Caroline Lynch worked out a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Summer Walker to help Yale defeat Connecticut, 5-2, on Sunday. Lynch, who played at the no. 5 position, is a senior from Slane, Co. Meath.
Utah State’s Lucy Octave managed a 6-3, 7-5 victory at third singles over Daphne Visscher that enabled the Aggies to defeat Texas-El Paso, 4-3, in Flagstaff, Ariz. on Saturday. Octave and Jenna Kane also took out Visscher and Raven Bennett, 6-2, at third doubles. Octave is a freshman from Donaghadee, Co. Down.
