NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Commodores closed out perennial ACC power Duke, 4-1, in the last day of the DICK’s Collegiate Challenge Cup in match play at the Golf Club of Tennessee. The SEC defeated the ACC, 16-9, in aggregate scores combined from all five matches played on Sunday.
Vanderbilt received points from senior Charlie Ewing (2&1), junior Ben Fogler (4&2), junior Hunter Stewart (2&1), and freshman Matthias Schwab (2 up). Duke’s only win of the day came from Yaroslav Merkulov, who defeated Vanderbilt sophomore Spencer Ciesla, 2 up.
“Overall I thought it was a great day,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We didn’t get off to a great start, but all five guys hung in there and were very resilient, because a lot of things didn’t go the way we wanted them to go to start off. But, I believe in this team. I believe in the character of this team and they showed it today. They just remained patient and calm, and trusted in their plan. We made some really good putts.
“Charlie went out first and got hot on holes three, four, five, and six and his putts started going in, and then we had Matthias right behind him who hit it really well today,” continued Limbaugh. “He hung in there and turned his match around. Even Spencer in a loss fought hard. He was three down through 12 and took his match all the way to 18. That’s really big in match play, to have all of your guys stay out there. Hunter played really well, and I played Ben in the anchor match for a reason today. He just fights hard and doesn’t give anything away and he competes. He obviously played really well. Overall, I was really pleased with how we played.”
Other results from the day included a 3-2 win from Tennessee over Wake Forest, a 5-0 win from Georgia over Clemson, and a 3-2 win by Mississippi State over Boston College. The ACC’s only win of the day came in Virginia’s match against Texas A&M, a match the Cavaliers won 3-2.
Vanderbilt returns to the course on October 7 and 8 at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala.
Vanderbilt 4, Duke 1
Charlie Ewing (Vanderbilt) defeated Turner Southey Gordon (Duke), 2 & 1
Matthias Schwab (Vanderbilt) defeated Michael Ricaurte (Duke), 2 Up
Yaroslav Merkulov (Duke) defeated Spencer Ciesla (Vanderbilt), 2 Up
Hunter Stewart (Vanderbilt) defeated Motin Yeung (Duke), 2 & 1
Ben Fogler (Vanderbllt) deeated Max Greyserman (Duke), 4 & 2
