Statesmen Climb Leaderboard to Take Second at Defiance Island Pointe

Kodak, Tenn. -- The William Penn men's golf team recovered from a rainy and sluggish day one to come away with a top-two finish as it competed at the Defiance Island Pointe on Thursday and Friday.

The navy and gold second out of 17 teams with a two-round score of 627 (322-305) at Island Pointe Golf Club.

Spartanburg Methodist College took first place after shooting 612 (304-308).

Topping the rankings for individuals in the 93-player field was Evan Cheek of Spartanburg at 147 (72-75).

Mario Palain (Fr., Zaragoza, Spain, Business Management) led the Statesmen and was only one stroke out of first with a score of 148 (79-69). Palain recovered from a slow first day with the best day two in the field.

The next in line for William Penn was Alvaro Rodriguez (So., Gijon, Spain, Business Management), tying for tenth, after hitting 155 (76-79). Maxence Moreau (Fr., Lyon, France, Applied Mathematics) was only two strokes behind with 157 (76-81), where he tied for 14th.

Samuel Arnaud (Fr., Saint-Maur-des-Fosses, France, Biology) suffered to a 91 in his opening 18 holes but recovered in the second day to tie for 13th in the second round with a 78 and tie for 53rd overall.

William Penn's varsity lineup was rounded out by Tyler Pedretti (So., Upland, Calif., Business Management), who tied for 60th with 172 strokes (93-79).

The Statesmen sent a second squad to Tennessee to compete as well. The squad took 17th overall with 721 strokes (367-355).  Timothy Wacker (So., Gilbert, Ariz., Psychology) led the group after hitting 174 (84-84) tying for a 66th-place finish.

"I think the guys were ready to play but didn't handle some of the weather related issues very well on day 1 and we dug ourselves into a big hole." Head Coach Darin Fisher said, "Day two was a different story with a fast start that let us climb the leaderboard fast! Mario really had a nice round, low round of the event, and some of the guys who struggled on day one showed some maturity in windy conditions.  We didn't finish the round very well, but to place 2nd in the field was great to see.  I'm pleased with the results, but we need to keep working hard, not get complacent just because of one nice performance. I think the guys are starting to believe that we have the players to compete in every event we play in!"