Men’s Golf Ties for Sixth at Own Kingsmill/W&M Invitational

Freshman Ryan Price Finishes Seventh

03/23/04 10:00PM

JAMES CITY, VA - Final Standings

Freshman Ryan Price (Chantilly, VA) led three strong showings from the Tribe’s freshmen as William and Mary men’s golf competed on the second day of the Kingsmill/William and Mary Invitational. 120 golfers from 22 colleges across the east coast gathered for the final 18 holes of the two-round tournament with Georgetown taking the team title by shooting 298-291--589, a three shot victory. Richmond was runner-up with 592 (294-298) while Old Dominion claimed third with a total of 602 (303-299). George Washington (303-302--605) in fourth and James Madison (306-300--606) rounded out the top five. The Green and Gold tied Liberty for sixth, slashing sevens strokes from its first-round 309 with a second-round 302 for a 36-hole total of 611. Also included in the field of 22 were CAA rivals Towson, George Mason and Delaware and state-foe Hampton in addition to Rutgers, Boston College, Loyola (MD), Temple, Lehigh, St. Joseph's, Long Island-Brooklyn, Navy, St. Bonaventure and Villanova.

Golfers were greeted with much more favorable conditions today on the challenging par-71, 6,769-yard Kingsmill River Course after a brutal Monday-18. While still very cool, the wind died down with only a few mild gusts affecting shot-making, allowing players to go low. No one went lower than Navy’s Billy Hurley, who fired a second-round 66 (-5) to go with a first-round 75 to claim individual medalist honors with 141 (-1). Old Dominion’s Greg Sampson was second in individual scoring, carding 70-72--142 (E) while Richmond’s Kyle Hess (73-70--143) took third. Lehigh’s Alan Borowsky had the second hole-in-one of the tournament, and only of the day, on the par-3, 177-yard 17th en route to a final round 69 (-2).

The College enjoyed a strong tournament from its three freshman: Price, Matt Brantingham (Richmond, VA) and Hunter Watts (Keswick, VA). Price showed great poise by following a first-round 73 (+2) with a 75 (+4) today to tie for seventh at 148 (+6), his best finish in a collegiate tournament. Price impressed by leading all 120 golfers in par-3 scoring, with a scoring average of 2.75 (-2) and also had the third-highest amount of birdies. Brantingham mounted a strong charge in today’s second round, firing three birdies on the front nine. Starting the back nine with a streak of pars, he bogeyed the 16th but deftly recovered by birdieing the par-3 17th. He was all but home at even par but dropped a shot on the 18th to tally a 1-over 72, a career-low and a five-shot improvement over his first-round score. His sparkling effort landed him in a tie for 12th, at 149 (+7). Watts carded a second-round 78 (+7) to go with his strong opening 75 (+4) to tie for 32nd at 153 (+11). Watts tied Price for the fourth-best scoring average on the par-5’s at 4.67 (-2).

Junior co-captain Gary Barton (Staten Island, NY) duplicated his first-round total by carding another 77 (+6) to end the tournament tied for 40th at 154 (+12). Just a stroke back was junior Tom McGinn (Albany, NY) who chopped five-strokes off his round-one effort with a solid 75 (+4) in today’s action to tie for 43rd at 155 (+13). Sophomore Jeff Steckmest (Pacific Palisades, CA) shot his second 80 (+9) of the tournament to tie for 73rd at 160.

Sophomore Trevor Branon (Los Gatos, CA) improved one stroke over his first-round score with his round of 81 (+10), landing him in a tie for 87th. Junior Robby McKetta (Houston, TX) shot 78-86--164 to tie for 92nd while senior co-captain Robert Himel (Chappaqua, NY) ended tied for 104th after carding 87-81--173.

Full results from the tournament can be accessed by clicking here. The Tribe is back in action at the Navy Spring Invitational April 3-4. The squad will look to repeat its earlier success at Navy, as it finished seventh at the Academy’s fall tournament with Barton claiming fifth after an opening-round 69 (-2).

Kingsmill/W&M Invitational FINAL Standings
Team Standings
Fin. School Scores

1 Georgetown 298-291--589 +21
2 Richmond 294-298--592 +24
3 Old Dominion 303-299--602 +34
4 George Washington 303-302--605 +37
5 James Madison 306-300--606 +38
6 Wm & Mary 309-302--611 +43
Liberty University 310-301--611 +43
8 Rutgers University 307-305--612 +44
9 Towson University 308-306--614 +46
Cleveland State U. 304-310--614 +46
11 Loyola College 315-301--616 +48
12 Temple University 317-300--617 +49
Boston College 308-309--617 +49
14 Lehigh University 319-303--622 +54
George Mason 313-309--622 +54
16 Navy 326-300--626 +58
17 Delaware, U. of 316-311--627 +59
18 Long Island-Brklyn 326-303--629 +61
19 St. Joseph's Univer. 323-310--633 +65
20 Villanova 336-321--657 +89
21 St. Bonaventure 331-334--665 +97
22 Hampton 340-347--687 +119

Top 10 Individuals
Fin. Golfer Score
1 Billy Hurley Navy 75 66 141 -1
2 Greg Sampson Old Domin. 70 72 142 E
3 Kyle Hess Richmond 73 70 143 +1
4 John Pelet Richmond 68 77 145 +3
5 Nick Cook Georgetown 73 73 146 +4
Tim Moynihan Georgetown 74 72 146 +4
7 *Ryan Price Wm. & Mary 73 75 148 +6
Brent Pittman Rutgers 75 73 148 +6
Joe Mclisterr Delaware 74 74 148 +6
Brian Carroll GW 75 73 148 +6
David Erikson Georgetown 74 74 148 +6

W&M Individuals
T7 *Ryan Price W&M 73-75-148 +6
T12 Matt Brantingham W&M 77-72-149 +7
T32 Hunter Watts W&M 75-78-153 +11
T40 Gary Barton W&M 77-77-154 +12
T43 Tom McGinn W&M 80-75-155 +13
T73 Jeff Steckmest W&M 80-80-160 +18
T87 *Trevor Branon W&M 82-81-163 +21
T92 *Robby McKetta W&M 78-86-164 +22
T104 *Robert Himel W&M 87-81-168 +26

* competed individually