Goetz Fourth, WVU Golf Sixth at Irish Creek

Goetz Fourth, WVU Golf Sixth at Irish Creek

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 7, 2018) – Freshman Mark Goetz recorded his second career top-10 finish to lead the West Virginia golf team at the Cabarrus Country Irish Creek Collegiate, hosted by Charlotte and Davidson at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on Sunday.

WVU finished sixth out of fifteen teams in the tournament.

WVU posted a three-round team score of 290-298-290=878 for 26 over par. The Mountaineers’ score of 290 in the third round was the second-best of the day.

“The first few holes played extremely difficult for us this morning,” coach Sean Covich said. “Where we started, we had to play dead into that north wind with temperatures near freezing. After that rough start, our guys really battled back. I’m proud of their effort. They fought until the end and had great attitudes out there with three rounds in adverse conditions.”

No. 15 Clemson took home top team honors at seven over with an 859, while No. 29 North Florida was the runner-up at nine over with a score of 861. No. 4 Georgia Tech took third at 15 over (867), and Big 12 foe Kansas was fourth at 22 over (874).

After posting scores of 71-70 on the first day of action, Goetz countered a pair of bogeys with two birdies to move into second place for a good portion of Sunday’s play. However, a double-bogey on his final hole put him at two-over par with a 73. He finished tied for fourth place at one over with a 54-hole total of 214.

Playing as an individual, freshman Logan Perkins finished tied for eighth. He shot 69-73-74=216 for a new career low, shooting three-over par.

Shooting 74-76 in the first two rounds, junior Max Sear rebounded with five birdies on the day. He finished even-par at 70, shooting seven-over par across three rounds with a score of 220. Sear moved 16 spots in the standings to break into the top-25 and tie for 24th place.

Sophomore Etienne Papineau also struggled into the second rounds, but responded with a 72 to finish one over in the third round. He shot 72-78-72=222, using four birdies in the final round to move into 36th place at nine-over par. Papineau tied with freshman Matthew Sharpstene, who shot 73-74-75=222 to also finish at nine over.

Junior Tristan Nicholls rounded out the group. He shot 76-78-81=235, finishing 22-over-par and in 72nd place.

WVU heads to rival Penn State next weekend for the Rutherford Intercollegiate at the Penn State Blue Golf Course in State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and Sunday.

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