University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Golf Finishes Fifth At Atlantic 10 Championships
04/21/2002 | Men's Golf
April 21, 2002
Fayetteville, PA - Rhode Island won the 2002 Verizon Atlantic 10 Golf Championship. The Championship is being held on the Iron Forge Course of Penn National Golf Club, a club that received a four and-a-half star rating from Golf Digest. It marked the Rams' fifth Atlantic 10 title and its first since taking back-to-back titles in 2000 and 1999.
By virtue of winning the Championship, Rhode Island earns the Conference's automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA Golf Championship. It was a cold and rainy day as Rhode Island finished the final 18 holes ten over par (292) but held on to first place with a nine under par three day score of 855.
Finishing in second place was last year's champion, Xavier. The Musketeers had a three day total of 858, finishing the 54-hole championship six under par. Temple rounded out the top three with a three over par score of 866 over the 54 holes. The rest of the field included, St. Bonaventure (873), Richmond (877), George Washington (883), Saint Joseph's (889), Dayton (894), Duquesne (897), Fordham (924) and La Salle (949).
When the final round of 18 ended, Temple junior John Rusk emerged as the tournament Champion with a three day score of 208 (68-72-68). He shot under par or even all three days. Finishing second was Xavier's Matt Makinson who was one stroke behind Rusk with a three-day score of 209 (70-71-68). David Spitz (Norwell, MA) of Rhode Island (71-67-73/211) and Neal Grusczynski of Xavier (70-69-73/212) finished third and fourth, respectively. Finished tied for fifth with a three-day score of 213 were Temple's Jerry Chen and Rhode Island's James Clarke.
Xavier Grusczynski was named the Rookie of the Year. Coach of the Year honors went to both Steve Campbell of St. Bonaventure and Tom Drennan of Rhode Island. It was Campbell's first honor and Drennan's third.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
School Rd 1 Rd2 Rd3 Total +/-
1. Rhode Island 281 282 292 855 -9
2. Xavier 289 280 289 858 -6
3. Temple 289 283 294 866 +2
4. St. Bonaventure 291 298 297 873 +9
5. Richmond 288 285 304 877 +13
6. George Washington 289 288 306 883 +19
7. Dayton 288 294 312 894 +30
8. Duquesne 289 297 311 897 +33
9. Saint Joseph's 290 298 301 889 +25
10. Fordham 310 304 310 924 +60
11. La Salle 312 312 325 949 +85
TOP TEN INDIVIDUALS
Player, School Rd 1 Rd2 Rd3 Total +/-
1 John Rusk, TU 68 72 68 208 -8
2 Matt Makinson, XU 70 71 68 209 -7
3 David Spitz, URI 71 67 73 211 -5
4 Neil Grusczynski, XU 70 69 73 212 -4
5 Jerry Chen, TU 72 68 73 213 -3
James Clarke, URI 68 72 73 213 -3
7 Paul Polinsky, SJU 70 72 72 214 -2
Michael Ball, GW 66 72 76 214 -2
9 Michael Carbone, URI 70 72 73 215 -1
10 James Chan, TU 71 68 77 216 E
University of Richmond Final Results
Richmond, Univ. of 288 285 304 877
T 11 Kyle Hess 71 72 74 217
T 14 Ryan McLain 70 72 76 218
25 Parker Hughes 77 70 75 222
T 30 Mark DiGiacomo 75 71 79 225
T 36 Steve Lessing 72 77 79 228
