University of Richmond
18 HOLES
Spiders Go Low, Climb Leaderboard At A-10 Championship
04/27/2019 | Men's Golf
ORLANDO, Fla. – After a disappointing first day at the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Richmond Spiders men's golf team bounced back in a big way in Saturday's round two, combining for a team score of 285, three shots under par and three shots better than any other team in the field.
Starting at 7:30 AM and playing in twosomes with Fordham, Richmond started its rally early when all five Spiders birdied the par-five, 510-yard second hole. Junior Andrew Sciarretta followed his birdie on the second hole with an eagle on the par-four third after holing out his approach shot from the fairway. Sciarretta added birdies on holes seven and eight to make the turn in a four-under 32. After double-bogeying the 16th hole to fall back to two-under par, Sciarretta rallied with birdies on 17 and 18 for a four-under round of 68, tied for the best of any golfer in the 55-man field on Saturday.
Sophomore Michael Baker was in red numbers before a final-hole bogey pushed him back to an even-par 72. Senior Ben Wanichek's birdie putt for a round of 71 stopped an inch short of the hole on 18. He also carded an even-par 72 on Saturday. Richmond's fourth and final team score was provided by junior Zack Justice, who shot a one-over 73.
In addition to being three shots better than any of the 10 other teams competing in the Championship, Richmond's 285 was its lowest 18-hole score since October's Autotrader Collegiate Classic and a 32-shot improvement over its total of 317 from Friday's windy round one.
"I'm really proud of how these guys responded today," said coach Adam Decker. "They are much too talented to play the way they played on Friday and it was great to see them play like it today and get us back to the pack."
Richmond is currently eighth with a 36-hole total of 602 (+26), two spots better than their placement entering Saturday. The Spiders will play Sunday's third and final round in threesomes with Rhode Island and Dayton, beginning at 8:15 AM.
Players Mentioned
