University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Senior Greg Matthias Wins CAA Men's Golf Individual Championship; Blue Hens Place Sixth in Team Standings
4/29/2012 8:10:00 PM | Men's Golf
WILMINGTON, Del. -- University of Delaware senior Greg Matthias (at right/below) carded a six over par 77 during his final round to earn medalist honors at the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Golf Championships held this Friday through Sunday at the Wilmington Country Club.
Matthias, who finished with a four over par score of 72-68-77-217 on the par 71, 7,043-yard South Course, becomes the ninth Blue Hen in school history to win a conference championship and the second in three years after Justin Martinson captured the 2010 CAA title. With the victory Matthias will advance to the NCAA Regionals, which will be held at six sites on May 17-19.
"This is a great feeling, I had a little bit of everything today,” said Matthias, who earned his first career victory as a Blue Hen. “I started out well but then got on the bogey train before I came back strong. I had a few birdies late and that really helped me out. I just hung in there and grinded it out. I thought if I could keep it close down at the end I could win it. It really hasn't soaked in yet but I'm sure it will soon. I hit the ball great all day, chipped well, and made a lot of short putts coming in and that was the difference.”
_lg.jpg)
Matthias, who posted just his second top 10 finish of the season, had great fan support all weekend including his father Jim, who is a well-known local club pro. He opened with four consecutive pars, but then had four bogeys and a double bogey on eight as he finished the front nine at six over par 41. However Matthias bounced back on the back nine, as after a birdie on 10 and four consecutive pars, he birdied 15 and 16 to move to three under for the day.
Matthias then double bogeyed 17 and bogeyed 18 to finish the day at 41-36-77, which was good enough for a one shot victory. Davin White of Georgia State fired a two under par 69 on Sunday but it wasn't enough, as he finished with a five over par score of 77-72-69-218.
"This was a gratifying weekend and it's great to say that we have had the CAA individual champion twice in the last three years,” said Blue Hen head coach Mike Keogh, who is concluding his 11th year at Delaware. “I think this shows that we are able to attract some outstanding players to Delaware. I'm really proud of the way Greg played this weekend. Greg has always been one of the best ball-strikers I have had here at Delaware but he has struggled with his putting. I urged him to try out a different putter this weekend to see if maybe he could get a different look, and he rolled the ball well."
The Blue Hens posted a 306 team score during Sunday's final round, finishing in a tie for sixth place out of 11 teams with William & Mary with a three-round total of 907. UNCW captured the team title with an 884 score, while Georgia State finished two shots behind at 886. Old Dominion was third at 903, VCU finished fourth at 904, and George Mason rounded out the top five at 905. The champion Seahawks also advance to the NCAA Regionals by virtue of their team championship.
Delaware junior Ben Conroy carded a seven over par 78 during his final round, finishing in a tie for 32nd place in the individual standings with a 19 over par 79-75-78-232. Conroy fired an eight over par 43 on the front nine, before a par and two birdies moved him to six over through 12 holes. Following a bogey on 13, Conroy concluded his day with five straight pars to finish at 43-35-78.
Sophomore Dan Costenbader fired a five over par 76 on Sunday, ending in a tie for 37th place with a 20 over par 83-74-76-233. Costenbader was two over par through three holes, but three pars and a birdie on 6 improved him to one over for the day. He would alternate pars and bogeys while falling to four over through 13, before consecutive pars and a birdie on 16 moved him to three over. However Costenbader wrapped up the day with bogeys on 17 and 18, finishing at 37-39-76.
Senior Stephen Scialo concluded his Delaware career by posting the lowest round of the day by a Blue Hen, as he carded a four over par 75 to finish in a tie for 42nd place at 80-80-75-235, 22 over par.
Scialo was two over through three holes, but responded with two pars followed by birdies on 6 and 7 to get back to even for the day. He was still even after a birdie on 10, before two straight bogeys and a double bogey dropped him to four over for the round. However after falling to five over, Scialo closed his day with a birdie on 17 sandwiched between two pars to finish at 36-39-75.
Freshman Niño Rosal also finished in a tie for 42nd place after he recorded an 11 over par 82 on Sunday to finish with a 22 over par score of 81-72-81-235. Rosal, who had nine pars on the day, fired a 43-39-82 during his last round of the season.
Players Mentioned
