Friday, April 20
Lonnie Poole Golf Course - Raleigh, N.C.
College of Charleston
at
CAA Men's Golf Championship
Sass Claims Individual Medalist Honors, Cougars Runner-Up at CAA Championship
4/22/2018 5:25:00 PM | Men's Golf
RALEIGH, N.C. – College of Charleston sophomore Michael Sass (Louisville, Ky.) carded a final-round 72 to claim individual medalist honors on the final day of the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Golf Championship held at the par-72 Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Sunday.
Sass shot 3-under par for the tournament with a 75 in the opening round on Friday and a career-low tying 66 in the second round on Saturday. He won by three strokes over runner-up Blake McShea, who finished even par on the individual leaderboard.
Sass, the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer, now joins a short list of Cougar greats to have won a conference individual championship title next to Josh Lorenzetti in 2013 (Southern Conference), John Jonas in 2015 (CAA), William Rainey in 2016 (CAA) and Parker Derby in 2017 (CAA).
As the league's individual champion, it qualified him for NCAA Regionals – only the fifth CofC men's golfer to do so along with Jedd McLuen (2000), Bruce McDonald (2003), Alex Ellis (2013) and Josh Lorenzetti (2013).
"It was a great tournament from Mike (Sass)," CofC Head Coach Mark McEntire said. "I hope that this gets him in the Player of the Year conversation. He had a great year and isn't done yet."
In team stroke play, the Cougars and UNCW were tied at +18 with three holes remaining. James Madison came into the final round with a one-stroke lead over CofC.
In his first CAA Championship appearance, freshman Reed Bentley (Spartanburg, S.C.) shot a 73 with three birdies to contribute to the team's final-round score.
The Seahawks, however, shot 3-under par for the day to seal the victory with a 54-hole total of 881 (+17). CofC was runner-up (+19), Drexel third (+22), JMU fourth (+27), Elon fifth (+39), Delaware sixth (+54), William & Mary seventh (+55), Towson eighth (+57) and Hofstra ninth (+88).
"What a tough finish," said McEntire, whose Cougars had won four-straight team titles from 2014 to 2017. "But give UNCW credit, they made birdies down the stretch and we did not. They had seniors on their team that had been there before and our youth showed. This hurts, but we will use it in the right way. The future has never been brighter."
Sass will learn his postseason destination as the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship Selection Show will be aired on Wednesday, May 2 at Noon (ET) on the Golf Channel. Regionals will be played on May 14-16 and this year's six regional sites are: Raleigh, N.C., Bryan, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, Kissimmee, Fla., Norman, Okla. and Stockton, Calif.
CAA CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Michael Sass, College of Charleston (Most Outstanding Performer)
Blake McShea, UNCW
Connor Schmidt, Drexel
Patrick Cover, UNCW
Aaron Fricke, Drexel
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON RESULTS
1. Michael Sass 75-66-72—213
T6. Hunter Dunagan 72-70-78—220
T13. Logan Sowell 75-75-76—226
T18. Colin Hamilton 79-75-75—229
T18. Reed Bentley 80-76-73—229
Sass shot 3-under par for the tournament with a 75 in the opening round on Friday and a career-low tying 66 in the second round on Saturday. He won by three strokes over runner-up Blake McShea, who finished even par on the individual leaderboard.
Sass, the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer, now joins a short list of Cougar greats to have won a conference individual championship title next to Josh Lorenzetti in 2013 (Southern Conference), John Jonas in 2015 (CAA), William Rainey in 2016 (CAA) and Parker Derby in 2017 (CAA).
As the league's individual champion, it qualified him for NCAA Regionals – only the fifth CofC men's golfer to do so along with Jedd McLuen (2000), Bruce McDonald (2003), Alex Ellis (2013) and Josh Lorenzetti (2013).
"It was a great tournament from Mike (Sass)," CofC Head Coach Mark McEntire said. "I hope that this gets him in the Player of the Year conversation. He had a great year and isn't done yet."
In team stroke play, the Cougars and UNCW were tied at +18 with three holes remaining. James Madison came into the final round with a one-stroke lead over CofC.
In his first CAA Championship appearance, freshman Reed Bentley (Spartanburg, S.C.) shot a 73 with three birdies to contribute to the team's final-round score.
The Seahawks, however, shot 3-under par for the day to seal the victory with a 54-hole total of 881 (+17). CofC was runner-up (+19), Drexel third (+22), JMU fourth (+27), Elon fifth (+39), Delaware sixth (+54), William & Mary seventh (+55), Towson eighth (+57) and Hofstra ninth (+88).
"What a tough finish," said McEntire, whose Cougars had won four-straight team titles from 2014 to 2017. "But give UNCW credit, they made birdies down the stretch and we did not. They had seniors on their team that had been there before and our youth showed. This hurts, but we will use it in the right way. The future has never been brighter."
Sass will learn his postseason destination as the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship Selection Show will be aired on Wednesday, May 2 at Noon (ET) on the Golf Channel. Regionals will be played on May 14-16 and this year's six regional sites are: Raleigh, N.C., Bryan, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, Kissimmee, Fla., Norman, Okla. and Stockton, Calif.
CAA CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Michael Sass, College of Charleston (Most Outstanding Performer)
Blake McShea, UNCW
Connor Schmidt, Drexel
Patrick Cover, UNCW
Aaron Fricke, Drexel
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON RESULTS
1. Michael Sass 75-66-72—213
T6. Hunter Dunagan 72-70-78—220
T13. Logan Sowell 75-75-76—226
T18. Colin Hamilton 79-75-75—229
T18. Reed Bentley 80-76-73—229
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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