University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Golf Finishes Fourth At Atlantic 10 Championship
05/07/2006 | Men's Golf
May 7, 2006
ORLANDO, Fla. - Junior John Pelet shot a 5-under-par 67 on his way to a fifth-place finish as the Richmond men's golf team placed fourth out of 13 teams at the 2006 Atlantic 10 Championship which concluded Sunday.Pelet's 67 shared the best round of the tournament with George Washington's Dan Mirabella. Pelet finished in a tie for fifth at 5-under-par 216 to earn all-conference honors. He shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round and a 76 in the second round.
"We didn't play as well as we had been the last two days," Richmond head coach Adam Decker said. "Some great play by John Pelet really saved our team score today."
Joining Pelet on the all-conference team was sophomore Jordan Utley, who tied for ninth at 4-under 212. Utley had the lead entering the final round after carding a pair of 68s, but shot a 4-over 76 on Sunday. It was the fourth-straight tournament that Utley finished in the top-10 and the sixth time he has done so in 12 tournaments this year.
Richmond finished fourth at 5-under-par 859 (284-284-291), two strokes behind third-place Rhode Island. It was the first time this season that Richmond finished a tournament under par. The Spiders entered Sunday's final round in third place, two strokes ahead of Rhode Island, but the Rams shot a 1-under 287 in the final round compared to Richmond's 3-over 291. Charlotte won the tournament at 27-under 837 and Xavier took second at 24-under 840.
"We could have played better Sunday, but we had a good tournament," Decker said. "To finish fourth among some pretty tough competition is a good step for us."
The Spiders did hold off a final round charge by George Washington to finish one-stroke ahead of the Colonials. By finishing ahead of GW, Richmond might have punched its ticket to the NCAA Regionals. Four teams from the Mid-Atlantic Region earn bids to the NCAA Regionals and by finishing ahead of regional rival GW, Richmond helped itself as the Spiders look for their first NCAA appearance since 2001. The Spiders will learn their fate when the selections are announced Monday night at 6 p.m.
Richmond sophomore Chris Bagley and freshman Tim Courtney both finished at 4-over par 220 to tie for 28th. Bagley shot a 74 in the first round, followed by a pair of 1-over 73s. Courtney, who was under the weather throughout the tournament, shot a 74 in the first round, a 4-under par 68 in the second round and a 78 on Sunday.
Senior Tyler Randol finished at 8-over-par 224 to tie for 39th. He shot a 2-over 74 in the first round, followed by 3-over 75s in both the second and third rounds.
Richmond will wait until Monday night to hear if it will be included in the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2001. The Spiders have made the NCAA Regionals three times in 1999, 2000 and 2001. In 1999, Richmond advanced to the NCAA National Championships.
Check RichmondSpiders.com on Monday night after 6 p.m. to hear whether the Spiders are included in the field and, if so, which of the three regionals they will play in.
