Junior Niklas Koerner set the 36 hole school record with a
7-under par 137 after carding rounds of 70 and 67 at the 13th
annual St. Thomas Aquinas Spring Invitational. Battling winds
gusting at 30 mph, Koerner paced the team on day one with the
tournament low round of 70 (-2). Freshman Kevin
Gately and sophomore Kai Rastetter both put together solids rounds
of 74 (+2).
Brendan Hunter posted a round of 76. Senior Tommy Linehan
had a difficult front 9 but managed to settle down a shoot 81 to
round out the team scoring. The Spartans team score of 294 (+6)
left them in 2nd place behind Wilmington University who shot 288 as
a team.
With temperatures in the low 50’s and settling winds,
the Spartans mounted a final round charge. Koerner started off his
second round similar to his first, posting 34 after nine holes.
Making the turn at 2 under par, Koerner managed to birdie the par 5
10th and 13th holes on the back to get to 4 under. After making par
on holes 14, 15, 16 and 17, Koerner stepped up to the 18th tee tied
with Andreas Lunding from Wilmington University who posted 138 (-6)
for the event. After hitting his tee shot in the fairway, Koerner
knew he needed a birdie to earn his first collegiate victory. He
promptly hit a wedge to 3 feet and knocked in his birdie putt to
shoot 67 (-5), his lowest round at St. Thomas Aquinas.
Koerner finished the event at 7-under par, winning by 1 shot over
Lunding.
Also playing well were Rastetter and Linehan who carded rounds
of 71 and 73 respectively. Rastetter battled back after a
difficult start, birding holes 7, 9, 10 and 11 to get back to
1-under par for his round. Linehan rebounded back nicely from his
first round, playing a steady round of golf and carding a 73.
Freshman Kevin Gately put together another nice round of golf
posting a second consecutive 74 while fellow freshman Brendan
Hunter finished the day shooting 78.
The Spartans final round score of 285 (-3)
gave them a final team score of 579 leaving them just one
shot behind the tournament champions from Wilmington
University.
The Spartans are back in action this weekend at the IUP
Cecil Spadura Invitational. This will be the team’s final
event before the NCAA Super Regional.
Results:
Niklas Koerner
70 - 67 -
137 1st
Place
Kai
Rastetter 74 - 71 -
145
T-5
Kevin
Gately 74 - 74 -
148
T-10
Colby
Lewis 77 - 75 -
152
T-16
Brendan
Hunter 76 - 78 -
154
T-21
Chris
Gentle 74 - 80 -
154
T-21
Tommy
Linehan 81 - 73 -
154
T-21
Anthony
Berardo 81 - 80 -
161
T-38
