WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Longwood men’s golf came into the day on top, and it ended there to earn the crown at the Golden Horseshoe Invtercollegiate on Tuesday.
The Lancers battled in the final round and held off a hard charge from William & Mary, the hosts, along with Drexel and Rhode Island.
LaRue earned individual co-medalist honors, and Nick Fleming, David LaFreniere and Hunter Swidzinski all finished in the top 20.
That was enough to give Longwood a third straight tournament win for the first time in team history.
NOTABLE RESULTS:
Wind played a factor in the final day, making the course challenging as no teams finished below par on the day.
While William & Mary, Drexel and Rhode Island all made charges throughout the day, the Lancers persevered to the end to win by seven strokes.
Justin LaRue carded a third straight round below par to earn co-medalist honors in the 86-player field, the fourth time this season he has either won outright or tied for the top spot in a tournament. He tied with Carsten Judge, of Georgetown, who competed as an individual.
He was incredibly consistent on the day, notching three birdies and 14 pars, and he finished with a three-round score of 68-68-69—205 (-8). He was the only player in the field to have three straight rounds under par.
Fleming, meanwhile tied for 11th in the final tally with a 71-71-73—215 (+2). On the final day, he had a pair of birdies to finish one spot shy of his best finish as a Lancer.
Meanwhile, LaFreniere and Swidzinski tied for 20th. For Swidzinski, it was his third straight top 20 finish and fourth time in his freshman season. He had two birdies on the day and finished with a 71-73-74—218 (+5).
LaFreniere, meanwhile, carded a 70-75-73—218 (+5) that represented his best finish of the season. He used two birdies and 12 pars to shave two strokes off his second-round score.
Scott Jordan finished tied for 47th, and Alexander Hoerner tied for 68th.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“Today was definitely a grind,” said Longwood Head Coach Kevin Fillman. “We struggled a good bit. Actually, everybody in the field had their fair share of struggles, given the changing winds and the tough setup. Nothing was easy, and I know it got really tight at the top of the leaderboard for a while. In the end, our guys were simply able to find a way.”
“Having put ourselves into that fire so much recently certainly helped us,” Fillman added. “We may have struggled, but we were able to stay on task and kept fighting. I’m so happy for these guys. They deserve to have this kind of success. We just now have to figure out how to bottle it and keep it going.”
FULL RESULTS:
1. Longwood: 280-287-289—856 (+4)
T1. Justin LaRue: 68-68-69—205 (-8)
T11. Nick Fleming: 71-71-73—215 (+2)
T20. David LaFreniere: 70-75-73—218 (+5)
T20. Hunter Swidzinski: 71-73-74—218 (+5)
T47. Scott Jordan: 71-75-80—226 (+13)
T68. Alexander Hoerner: 71-82-78—231 (+18)
UP NEXT:
The Lancers return to action for Dragon Match Play, hosted by Drexel, at the Green Valley Country Club in Lafayette, Pennsylvania on Monday and Tuesday, April 7-8.
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