Texas A&M
Georgia Tech
Aggies Finish Sixth at Collegiate Match Play
Mar 22, 2011 | Men's Golf
March 22, 2011
BALL GROUND, Ga. - The Texas A&M men's golf team dropped a tight 3-2 match to No. 3-seed Georgia Tech on Tuesday morning and finished sixth at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship at Hawks Ridge Golf Club outside Atlanta.
The Aggies hung neck-and-neck with the fourth-ranked Yellow Jackets on their home course, before Tech held off late A&M rallies on the final two matches of the day to hang on for 1-up wins and the 1-point overall victory.
"That was a tough loss today," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We were ahead or all square in four of the matches most of the day. Then with about 6 or 7 holes left, they started to win some and Cameron and John fell behind. John was 3 down with 3 to play and Cam was 2 down with 2 to play. But to their credit, neither one quit. It was an incredible match but a difficult way to lose. For the future, we need to take better advantage of our opportunities when they arise and do a little better job of applying pressure when we have an advantage."
Senior Conrad Shindler completed a perfect 4-0 week with a dominating victory on the second line, defeating Georgia Tech's J.T. Griffin--ranked 15th nationally--5 and 4. After Tech's James White (ranked ninth nationally) defeated Aggie junior Jordan Russell, 5 and 4, on the top line to even the match, A&M senior Nacho Elvira dropped Kyle Scott 2 and 1 on the third line to put the Aggies in the lead.
"Conrad and Nacho were incredible today," Higgins said. "Neither ever trailed and they both looked in complete control throughout the day. Conrad has now won eight straight matches at this event and has gone undefeated over the last two years. I feel bad for Jordan. He ran into some really hot players and could never get the upper hand this week. He is playing really well and I know he will play great next week."
Texas A&M senior John Hurley and sophomore Cameron Peck both trailed by two going into the final two holes of their matches. Peck birdied hole No. 6 to cut Georgia Tech's Richy Werenski's lead to one, while Hurley eagled No. 7 to pull within one of Paul Haley.
Peck birdied the final hole of the day, No. 7, but Werenski matched it to claim the 1-up victory and even up the match at 2-2. Then, both Hurley and Haley shot par on their final hole, No. 8, giving the Yellow Jackets the overall victory.
"Cam birdied his last two holes, but his opponent matched his birdie on the last hole and came away with the win," Higgins said. "John birdied his 16th hole and eagled his 17th to close the gap to one. He had a 12-foot putt for birdie on the last hole to take us to sudden death, but it just missed on the high lip and that was it."
For the week, A&M finished 2-2 with a win over the top-seeded team in the event, UCLA. The Aggies' two losses came to teams seeded third and fourth respectively, Georgia Tech and Illinois, and went down to the final hole.
"Overall, we had a pretty good trip," Higgins said. "We lost two matches by a whisker that could have easily gone our way and we beat one of the best teams in the country. It gave us experience in match play that I know will be invaluable in June."
Texas A&M returns to the links this Sunday when the Aggies open play in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, S.C. The tournament will run through next Tuesday at Bulls Bay Golf Club outside Charleston.
5th Place Match: No. 3 Georgia Tech 3, No. 5 Texas A&M 2
James White (GT) def. Jordan Russell (A&M), 5 and 4
Conrad Shindler (A&M) def. J.T. Griffin (GT), 5 and 4
Nacho Elvira (A&M) def. Kyle Scott (GT), 2 and 1
Richy Werenski (GT) def. Cameron Peck (A&M), 1 up
Paul Haley (GT) def. John Hurley (A&M), 1 up
A&M at 2011 Collegiate Match Play Championship (2-2)
First Round: def. (#12) Pacific, 3.5-1.5
Quarterfinals: lost to (#4) Illinois, 3-2
Consolation: def. (#1) UCLA, 3.5-1.5
Fifth Place: lost to (#3) Georgia Tech, 3-2
Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship: Championship Round Results
Championship Match: (10) Duke def. (4) Illinois, 4-1
Third-Place Match: (11) USC def. (9) Texas Tech, 4-1
Fifth-Place Match: (3) Georgia Tech def. (5) Texas A&M, 3-2
Seventh-Place Match: (1) UCLA def. (15) East Tennessee State, 3-2
Ninth-Place Match: (6) Iowa def. (8) Georgia, 3.5-1.5
11th-Place Match: (12) Pacific def. (2) Alabama, 4.5-0.5
13th-Place Match: (16) South Carolina def. (14) Washington State, 3.5-1.5
15th-Place Match: (7) Texas def. (13) Baylor, 4-1
