Spiders Tie for Fourth in Fall Finale

Sunday, October 22

Greenville, SC

8:30 AM

University of Richmond

Furman Intercollegiate

Cole Ekert watches his putt travel to the hole

10/23/2023 | Men's Golf

Results

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Richmond Spiders Men's Golf team concluded its fall schedule with a fourth-place finish at the 54-hole Furman Intercollegiate Monday. Richmond finished event even with JMU at 7-over par (859), tied for fourth in the 15-team field and UR's first top-five team finish of the season. The Spiders were led by junior Cole Ekert, who tied for eighth at 2-under par (211) after playing his final five holes in 3-under par, including birdies on his final two holes of final round.

"It was great to finish birdie-birdie especially after a day where I felt like I was grinding for every shot," said Ekert. "I think I was technically a bit off for most of the beginning of the round, but was able to find a little something towards the end which gave me some confidence."

Freshman Quin Polin recorded a top-20 finish in his collegiate debut, tying for 16th at even par (213). Polin shot 72 (+1) Monday after registering rounds of 70 (-1) and 71 (E) in Rounds 1 & 2 on Tuesday. Polin played the par 4s at Furman Golf Course even for the event, tied for fifth best in the field.

Sophomore Drew Carlin finished at 3-over par (216), tied for 27th in the field of 90 golfers, while grad student Lou Baker tied for 41st at 6-over par (219). Senior Garrett Clark tied for 75th at 227 (+14).

The only three teams to finish in front of the Spiders in the event were tournament champion and host Furman and nationally-ranked Chattanooga and Texas A&M.

Richmond's next competition will be on Feburary 5-6, 2024 at the Atlantic 10-MAC Match Play event in Jade City, Fla.

"My takeaway from the fall is that we have a really deep team," said coach Adam Decker. "The older guys have been doing a great job of helping get the first years up to speed and informed about what college golf is all about. It's a different experience than what they are used to in junior golf and the transition can be tricky. I'm really happy with where we are headed. We'll take a little time off and then some solid off-season work will get us ready for the spring schedule."

Ekert, who led the Spiders in scoring average (71.5) among those to play in multiple events this fall, believes the team is capable of making a major impact in the spring.

"I think everyone on the team has proven that they are capable of going out and playing really well in tournaments when it matters most," said Ekert. "We always say that the fall is just a warmup for our spring, which it is, but we have one semester left with some of our seniors and fifth-year guys so it's time we actually put it together for a spring season to help those guys finish their careers on a high note. I know we have a great squad, probably the best in the A-10 this year — which we've learned over our last few events — so I think we're in a good headspace going into the offseason and spring season."