Luke O’Neill of Kansas State’s men’s golf team produced a personal best 66 to tie for medal honors in the Colleton River Collegiate with Ohio State’s Adam Wallin in Bluffton, S.C. O’Neill, a sophomore from Galway who plays out of Connemara Golf Club, suffered only one bogey through rounds of 68, 68 and 66 to finish 14 strokes under par and on even terms with Wallin. O’Neill was a large reason why Kansas State finished third in the team scramble at 20-under-par, 10 behind champions Georgia Southern.
“What a performance for Luke,” said Grant Robbins, Kansas State head coach. “To go 54 holes with only one bogey was incredible. His ball striking was really on all week. He’s been working hard and I’m really happy to see him rewarded for it.”
Jordan Logue of Mississippi College took joint-fourth place in the Buccaneer Spring Classic at Irene Golf and Country Club in Memphis. The junior from Belfast combined rounds of 76, 69 and 71 to finish at even par, five shots adrift of the co-medalists.
Chattanooga’s Paul Conroy, a sophomore from Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, blew a golden opportunity to win the Jackrabbit Invitational at Boulder Creek in Boulder City, Nev. He led after two rounds, having shot 67 and 70. But a third-round 79 dumped him into a share of sixth place, four strokes off the trio that shared medal honors. South Dakota State’s James Temple, a senior from Malahide, Dublin shot 20-over 236 (77-80-79) to tie for 65th place.
The Davis & Elkins pair of Jordan Hyland and Sean McAufield shared ninth place with five others in the Browngolf Intercollegiate at Foxfire Resort in Jackson Spring, N.C. Hyland, a junior from Belfast, posted consecutive rounds of 74, while McAufield, a freshman from Ardee, Co. Louth, signed to rounds of 75 and 73. That left them four strokes over par for the event and five off the low number belonging to Josh DiCarlo of Wayne State. Davis & Elkins finished joint-second among the 19 teams, 13 strokes behind Wayne State.
Sacred Heart’s Eoin Freeman, a freshman from Dublin, tied for seventh place in the Sacred Heart Spring Invitational at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. Rounds of 73 and 76 left him five strokes over par and eight behind teammate Marcus Lim atop the leaderboard. Freeman was one of four Pioneers in the top 10, which helped them claim the team trophy.
South Alabama senior Jack Hearn, from Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, wriggled into the top 20 at the Tiger Invitational at RTJ Grand National in Opelika, Ala. Rounds of 73, 74 and 70 left him tied for 20th place, a stroke over par and 20 behind runaway victor Frankie Capan of Florida Gulf Coast. Another two strokes behind Hearn came Alex Maguire of Florida Atlantic. The junior from Mornington, Co. Meath recovered from an opening 78 to shoot 71 and 70 for a share of 28th place.
Wake Forest’s Mark Power, a junior from Kilkenny, tied for 20th place in the Wake Forest Invitational at Pinehurst # 2 in North Carolina. He strung together rounds of 75, 74 and 73 to finish 12 strokes over par and 10 off the low number shared by a pair of rivals from Clemson.
Hartford’s Conor Byrne, a sophomore from Strabane, Co. Tyrone, rebounded from opening rounds of 78 and 79 to finish the Bandon Dunes Invitational at Sheep Ranch in Bandon, Ore. with 68, just a stroke off the low round. He shared 46th place, 12 strokes over par and 16 behind medalist Caleb Shetler of San Jose State.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Sara Byrne of Miami (Fla.) got a share of 25th place in the Augusta Invitational at Forest Hills in Augusta, Ga. The freshman from Douglas, Cork shot 73 and 79 to finish eight strokes over par and eight behind Augusta’s Natalia Yoko, the medalist.
TRACK & FIELD
The duo of Rhasidat Adeleke and Davicia Patterson helped the University of Texas claim second place in the NCAA Division 1 women’s championships in Birmingham, Ala. on Saturday. Adeleke, a freshman from Dublin, scored points with her fourth-place finish in the 200 meters, in which she ran 22.88 against a winning 22.16 by Kentucky’s Abby Steiner, and with her eighth-place finish at 60 meters (her 7.26 against a winning 7.09 by Melissa Jefferson of Coastal Carolina). Adeleke managed a personal best 7.17 in the 60 meters preliminary round. She and Patterson, a sophomore from Lisburn, Co. Antrim, ran the second and third legs, respectively, for Texas in the 4x400 meters relay, in which they placed second behind Arkansas.
On the men’s side, Washington’s Brian Fay, a junior from Dublin, got sixth place in the 5,000 meters with a 13:28.48 clocking. Butler’s Barry Keane, a junior from Waterford, was along in 13:35.01 for 11th place. Northern Arizona’s Abdihamid Nur won the race in 13:19.01.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Sean McCarthy was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field for 10 points as Felician made a quick exit from the NCAA Division 2 playoffs, getting routed by host Bentley, 95-63. The 6-5 Cork freshman averaged 5.7 points per game for the Golden Falcons (19-10) this season while brandishing a 55 percent strike rate.
California concluded a 12-20 season with a 66-59 loss to Washington State in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. Sam Alajiki, a 6-7 forward from Dundalk, completed his freshman season by chipping in five points, nailing one of four field goal attempts and three of four free throws. He averaged 3.1 points per game for the Golden Bears, shooting 46 percent overall and 50 percent when straying far from the target.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Holy Cross lost a 50-49 stunner to Navy (10-20) in first-round play of the Patriot League tournament in Worcester, Mass. last Monday. The Crusaders’ Bronagh Power-Cassidy, a 5-10 sophomore from Dublin, contributed six points, seven rebounds and three assists. She knocked down two of three shots from the field and two of four from the foul line. Holy Cross (20-10) now visits Columbia on Wednesday evening in first-round action of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
Jessica Leeman. PHOTO BY TIM COWIE
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Jessica Leeman led the way at first singles as Presbyterian took to the road for victories over Hampton, 4-0, on Saturday and North Carolina A&T, 7-0, on Sunday. The Belfast senior rung up wins over Hampton’s Milena Amedieva, 6-2, 6-2, and A&T’s Florielvis Hurtado, 6-1, 6-3. She also combined with Claudia Sanchez at first doubles for two triumphs.
Rice’s Anna Bowtell, a senior from Delgany, Co. Wicklow, won two matches over the weekend in Denton, Tex. Playing at no. 5, she defeated Charlotte’s Lucie Petruzelova, 6-1, 6-1, as the Owls prevailed, 4-0. She then moved up to no. 4, where she handled Saki Oyama of North Texas, 6-2, 6-1, as Rice again won, 4-1.
Elon’s Alison O’Dea won at fifth singles, 6-2, 7-5, over Morgan State’s Asmara Rose and teamed with Olivia Archer for a 6-1 doubles victory as the Phoenix defeated Morgan, 6-1. O’Dea is a sophomore from Dublin.
Ellie Murphy was responsible for the points Appalachian State scraped together in a 4-2 loss to Georgia State in Atlanta on Sunday. The Dublin sophomore defeated Alexia Alvarez, 6-4, 6-3, at fourth singles and teamed with Helena Jansen at first doubles for a 6-2 triumph.
The O’Lideadha sisters kept Idaho State competitive in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Air Force. Lola produced a 6-2, 6-4 win over Alexis Odom at third singles, although Sol fell at fourth singles, 7-5, 6-3, to Karina Chao. At second doubles, however, the Dublin sophomores worked out a 6-3 triumph.
MEN’S TENNIS
Neil O’Connor had a productive weekend at sixth singles for Coastal Carolina. The Dublin senior posted victories over South Carolina State’s Diego Araluz, 7-5, 6-3, and Radford’s Robert Hagen, 6-3, 6-4. He also joined Guilherme Toresan for a 7-6 (9-7) victory over Radford at third doubles. The Chanticleers defeated S.C. State, 6-0, and Radford, 5-2.
Stonehill’s Christian Duffy was solid at second singles, posting victories in Orlando, Fla. over Immaculata’s Nicholas Fleming, 6-1, 6-1, and Peyton Fischer of St. John’s (Minn.), 6-2, 6-4. The Skyhawks swept both rivals by 7-0 scores.
Spring Hill’s Fergus O’Rourke was slotted at second singles for Saturday’s match with Birmingham Southern. He dusted off Wilbur Dotson, 6-4, 6-2, helping the Badgers sweep BSC, 6-0. O’Rourke is a junior from Dublin.
