WVU to Close Out Fall in Hawaii

WVU to Close Out Fall in Hawaii

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Nov. 1, 2018) – The West Virginia University golf team will cap its fall slate this weekend when the team returns to Hawaii for the Ka’anapali Class Collegiate Invitational. The University of Hawaii will host the tournament Nov. 2-4 at The Royal Ka’anapali Course in Lahaina.

The Mountaineers will join 20 other programs in a competitive field in the Aloha State. In addition to host Hawaii, teams in the event include Boise State, No. 26 Cal, No. 54 UCLA, No. 9 Clemson, Connecticut, George Washington, No. 16 Georgia, Gonzaga, Houston, Indiana, No. 32 Kansas, No. 27 North Florida, No. 11 Oklahoma, Sacramento State, No. 34 South Carolina, Southern Illinois, Air Force, Washington, and Wyoming.

Golfers will play 54 holes across three days, playing one round per day. WVU is paired with Houston, Cal and George Washington. Teams will tee off in a shotgun start at 2:30 p.m. EST (8:30 a.m. local time).

West Virginia recently moved up to No. 39 in the Golfstat rankings. The team currently comes in at No. 41 in the Golfweek rankings. Senior Max Sear is ranked at No. 60 by Golfstat and No. 47 by Golfweek.

Sear, sophomore Matthew Sharpstene, junior Etienne Papineau, sophomore Logan Perkins and sophomore Mark Goetz will represent West Virginia at the event.

“Obviously anytime you can play in a place like Maui, Hawaii, it’s special but this tournament, in particular, brings together some of the best teams in the nation, so that makes it even better,” coach Sean Covich said. “We played here last year and struggled so I know our guys are eager to show how much they learned and how much they have improved since then. I look forward to watching our guys compete the next few days as we try to finish off the fall season on a strong note.”

This marks the Mountaineers’ second appearance at the tournament, as they tied for 14th overall last season. Sharpstene tied for 18th overall as a freshman, shooting three under.

Both Sharpstene and Sear are coming off top-10 finishes at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in October. Sear, who claimed medalist honors at The Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational on Oct. 9, finished tied for fifth at the Tavistock with a score of six-under-par. Sharpstene tied for eighth place at both The Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational and the Tavistock.

Playing as an individual, Goetz finished tied for ninth at the Muskateers Classic to finish out October.

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