The No. 1-ranked NCAA Division III Emory men’s golf team finished second out of 14 teams at the Discover Dekalb Emory Spring Invitational held from April 20-21. The invitational was a 54-hole event that took place at the 6,535-yard, par-71 Smoke Rise Country Club in Stone Mountain, Ga.
The Eagles ended with a score of 878 (294-287-297), 13 strokes behind No. 2-ranked Huntingdon College (Ala.) who placed first with a score of 865 (294-287-297). Guilford College (N.C.) finished third with 880 (287-301-292), and the Emory B team placed fourth with 884 (306-288-290). St. John’s University (Minn.) rounded out the top five with 886 (301-291-294).
Coach John Sjoberg said that Huntingdon played beautifully to close out the tournament.
“We had a lot of rain so it was pretty sloppy,” Sjoberg said. “We battled really well and came back on Sunday. Huntingdon had twelve birdies with their five guys and [we] couldn’t catch them.”
Sophomore Eric Yiu continued his impressive season for the Eagles, finishing in sixth place for the tournament with a score of 216 (70-72-74) on the A team. Freshman Logan Ryan earned eighth place at 217 (72-72-73). Senior Connor Yakubov and junior Matt Organisak had scores of 223 (71-71-75) and 224 (77-72-75), placing 20th and 24th, respectively.
Yiu, who was named the UAA Men’s Golf Athlete of the Week, commented on his performance and process.
“If I am able to get a good first [stroke], I can get a lot of birdies,” Yiu said. “I think I played pretty well. I made a few mistakes with a few bogeys but I kept coming back.”
Freshman Andrew DiPetrillo was the top scorer for the B team with a mark of 218 (77-68-73), good enough for 10th place. Sophomore Davis Hingtgen also performed well with a score of 220 (78-72-70) and a 14th-place finish.
In preparation for the last tournament, Yiu said the team is still keeping up the pace with practice.
“On days we don’t have finals, we are getting ready,” Yiu said. “We are working out and stretching a lot at the end of the season. We need to keep up with our hand mobility.”
Sjoberg assessed the situation in similar fashion.
“We’re going to play a ton of golf,” he said. “ The expectation is to go in and play as well as we can. Hopefully, we are the last ones with the biggest trophy at the end of the week.
The Eagles will finish their season at the NCAA Division III Golf Championships on May 14-17 at the Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Ky.
