Auburn's Julie McCarthy (right) and Clemson's Micheala Williams flank Clemson head coach Kelley Hester after completion of play left McCarthy and Williams co-champions in the Clemson Invitational.
College Roundup / By John Manley
In opening round of 66 set Julie McCarthy of Auburn University’s women’s golf team up to earn a share of medal honors in the Clemson Invitational at the Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset Beach, South Carolina. The sophomore from Swords, Co. Dublin followed that up with a round of 70, which left her level with Clemson’s Micheala Williams after 36 holes. Weather forced cancellation of the third and final round, leaving McCarthy and Williams as co-champions. This is the first collegiate championship for McCarthy, who plays out of Forrest Little back home. Auburn took second place among teams, eight strokes off Vanderbilt’s winning score.
Meanwhile, due north at Lake Hickory in Hickory, North Carolina, Carson-Newman’s Maeve Cummins ran off with the South Atlantic Conference Championship. The Waringstown, Co. Down freshman held off Wingate’s Diana McDonald by three strokes for the title. Cummins shot rounds of 75, 72 and 72 to claim the crown, although she couldn’t lift her team higher than fourth place. The Eagles stood 16 strokes behind Anderson University at the end of the tournament.
Maeve Cummins of Carson-Newman receives her trophy after winning the South Atlantic Conference Women's Golf Championship.
“Such a strong and gritty performance by Maeve to win,” said Suzanne Strudwick, Carson-Newman head coach. “This is a fantastic result.”
This is Cummins’ second individual title in her freshman year. Lurgan Golf Club is her home base in Ireland.
Weather caused scores to come in on the high side in the Shootout at Stonehedge in Augusta, Michigan, but Northwestern Ohio left with the team title. Senior Caitriona Griffin from Castlemaine, Co. Kerry got fifth place on the individual leaderboard after shooting rounds of 80 and 79 to finish four strokes off the winning number posted by Indiana Tech’s Cecilia Heck.
MEN'S GOLF
Ben Phipps, a Luther College freshman from Ardee, Co. Louth, got second place in the Loras Spring Invitational at Thunder Hills in Peosta, Iowa. His rounds of 77 and 74 left him four strokes off the winning score shot by Andrew Gates of Clarke University. Luther tied for second place in the team scramble, two strokes behind the University of Dubuque.
Eoin Cunniffe’s 11th place finish in the Mountain East Conference Spring Classic helped the University of Charleston win the team title. Cunniffe, a senior from Galway, shot rounds of 76 and 70 at Urbana Golf Club in Urbana, Ohio, which was third best on the Golden Eagles, who had seven strokes on Davis & Elkins. Cunniffe was only three strokes off the winning score posted by Shepherd’s Owen Elliott.
Iona’s Oisin Devereux, a junior from Dublin, tied for 11th place in the Wildcat Spring Invitational at White Manor in Malvern, Pennsylvania. His rounds of 72 and 68 left him two strokes under par for the event and nine off the winning number of Drexel’s Connor Schmidt. Devereux was low man for the Gaels, who finished joint-10th in the 20-team field.
The Louisville duo of John Murphy and Devin Morley finished in the upper echelon in the Stitch Intercollegiate at Macgregor Downs in Cary, North Carolina. Murphy, a junior from Kinsale, Co. Cork, knocked out rounds of 71 and 70 for a share of 10th place, while Morley, a junior from Galway, was a stroke behind after shooting 70 and 73. He got a piece of 15th place. Murphy was five strokes off the low number. Wake Forest nipped Louisville by a stroke for the team crown.
The Mustang Intercollegiate at Palm Valley in Goodyear, Arizona attracted 120 golfers, with Nathan McCann of Colorado State-Pueblo getting a share of 22nd place (low for the Thunderwolves) and Western New Mexico’s James Temple finishing joint-58th. McCann, a sophomore from Lurgan, Co. Armagh, posted rounds of 73, 72 and 68 for an aggregate 213, while Temple, a freshman from Malahide, Dublin, shot 70, 71 and 77 for 218. Ethan Casto of Western Washington was low man at 201. Pueblo and Western New Mexico shared sixth place among the 23 teams on the course.
Oakland University’s Marc Norton, a senior from Belfast, finished midpack in the Rutherford Intercollegiate at Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania. His rounds of 71, 77 and 75 put him 10 strokes over par for 54 holes and 15 behind the victorious Drake Hull of Connecticut.
MEN’S TENNIS
Coilin MacNamara’s collegiate career is winding down, but the Stetson senior via Dublin is making the most out of what is left. In Thursday’s 7-0 romp over North Alabama, MacNamara defeated Cade Reasons, 6-3, 6-0, at fifth singles. On Saturday, in a 5-2 win over Lipscomb, he handled Jake Penny, 6-4, 7-5.
Thomas Brennan’s victories at second singles proved critical as Butler edged both Marquette and DePaul by 4-3 verdicts in Indianapolis last weekend. Brennan, a freshman from Dublin, handled Marquette’s Luke Smrek, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, on Saturday and DePaul’s Boris Spanjaard, 7-5, 7-5, on Sunday.
Iowa’s Morgan Lohan registered a victory at sixth singles, 6-3, 6-0, over IUPUI’s Mikel Saavedra on Sunday in Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes won the match, 6-0. Lohan is a sophomore from Tramore, Co. Waterford and the younger brother of Sinead Lohan, who wrapped up an All-American career at the University of Miami last year.
Merrimack routed Assumption, 7-0, on Saturday, with Jonathan Garcia pulling off a 6-1, 6-2 win at second singles over Reb Mariano. Garcia and Alex Federov also knocked off Brandon Sze and Jameson Keppeler, 6-0, at second doubles. LeMoyne College proved a tougher nut to crack, but Merrimack got by them, 4-3. Garcia and Federov helped the Warriors win the doubles point by taking care of Tyler Underwood and Gerardo Wibmer, 6-3. Garcia, a freshman from Dublin, fell at second singles to Philip Blythe, 6-2, 6-2.
The trip to the Pacific Northwest was worth it for Missouri-Kansas City, which registered 7-0 victories over Seattle and Chicago State. Neil O’Connor, a freshman from Dublin, pulled his weight at fifth singles with wins over Seattle’s Adrian Alvarez-Sanabria, 6-0, 6-1, and Chicago State’s Cody Wurzelbacher, 6-1, 6-3.
Oisin Shaffrey was a bright spot for Montana in a 5-2 loss to Eastern Washington on Sunday. The Dublin freshman pulled out a 6-2, 7-6 win at fifth singles over Wout Doumen. He also conspired with Pontus Hallgren for a 6-3 win at third doubles over Doumen and Mikayel Khachatryan, although the Grizzlies lost the doubles point.
Lenoir-Rhyne edged Anderson, 4-3, in Hickory, North Carolina on Thursday. Shane O’Dea was a difference maker at fifth singles, where he defeated Tomas Depaggio, 6-0, 6-2. O’Dea is a senior from Dublin.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Lucy Octave needed three sets to finish off Priscilla Palermo, but her 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory helped put Utah State over the edge, 4-3, in Sunday’s match at home against Colorado State. Octave is a junior from Donaghadee, Co. Down.
Vanderbilt won the battle of Tennessee on Friday in Knoxville, taking out the University of Tennessee, 4-2. Dublin freshman Georgia Drummy led the Commodores with a victory at first singles, 6-1, 6-2, over Sadie Hammond. Drummy and Fernanda Contreras also got a 6-2 win at second doubles over Tenika McGiffin and Maia Haumuller. Vanderbilt is ranked seventh among Division 1 teams and Drummy is 68th among individuals.
Farther west, New Mexico earned state bragging rights with a 5-2 win over New Mexico State in Albuquerque on Friday. Ruth Copas, a senior from Dundalk, paced the Lobos with a victory at first singles, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0), over Rebecca Keijzerwaard. Copas and Hsiang-Wen Huang were also 6-4 winners at third doubles over Keijzerwaard and Chloe Gavino.
Rice finished off the regular season with a 4-0 triumph over crosscity rival Houston. Anna Bowtell, a sophomore from Delgany, Co. Wicklow, took care of Phonexay Chitdara, 6-3, 6-3, at fifth singles.
Laura Fitzgerald was a 7-5, 6-4 victor at fifth singles to help Illinois State defeat Missouri State, 5-2, in Normal, Illinois on Saturday. She is a sophomore from Greystones, Co. Wicklow.
After coming up short, 6-3, 6-4, against San Jose State’s Tamara Culibrk at first singles on Saturday, Fresno State’s Jennifer Timotin was slotted at no. 2 on Sunday against Nevada’s Marta Ruedas. The result was a 6-1, 6-1 Timotin victory. Fresno lost the San Jose match, 4-3, but took Nevada, 4-0. Timotin is a freshman from Dublin.
Presbyterian College was edged, 4-3, by Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, North Carolina on Wednesday. Jessica Leeman kept the Blue Hose close with a win at fifth singles, 6-3, 7-5, over Adrienne Vesely. Leeman is a freshman from Belfast.
Northwestern dropped 4-3 verdicts on the road to Minnesota on Friday and Wisconsin on Sunday, but Julie Byrne didn’t cost the Wildcats at second singles. The Dublin sophomore held fast against Minnesota’s Tiffany Huber, 6-3, 6-3, and Wisconsin’s Lexi Keberle, 6-2, 6-4.
Montevallo’s Emily Beatty split matches at first singles last week. The senior out of Moria, Co. Down worked out a 7-5, 6-2 win over Lee University’s Asia Grzegrzolka in a match won by Lee, 4-3. Earlier in the week, Montevallo got taken, 5-2, by Alabama-Huntsville, with Beatty falling, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, to Stefanie Mehlich.
Tusculum and the McCullough sisters of Belfast continue to roll, defeating Lincoln Memorial, 6-1, and Catawba, 7-0. In Wednesday’s win over Lincoln, the sisters teamed at first doubles to take down Johanna Delisse and Kiersten Waugh, 6-3. Annie McCullough then took on Delisse at first singles and dispatched her, 6-0, 6-3, while sister Caitlin did likewise in the second spot against Julia Loos, 6-3, 6-4. More of the same transpired on Saturday, with a 6-4 doubles win over Erisa Onchi and Carolina Correia, followed by Annie’s singles win over Onchi, 6-0, 6-2, and Caitlin’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Sophie Hirsch. Annie is ranked 46th among Division 2 women. The twins are in their junior year at the Tennessee school.
