April 19, 2004
SUFFOLK, VA (April 18, 2004) - UNC Wilmington shot a final round team score of 290 for a three-day total of three-over par (288-289-290=867) to capture its first CAA men's golf championship by nine strokes over runner-up Old Dominion University (288-297-291=876) at Nansemond River Golf Club.
George Mason placed seventh (299-307-298=904) in the three-day championship. Mike Kirby (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) led the Patriots, shooting a career-best 70 on the final day for a (72-78-70=220) total. His12th place finish in the individual is also a career-best. Sophomore Mike Cavanagh (Perham, Minn/Hibbing) was four strokes behind Kirby, placing 17th with a (73-75-76=224).
2003 CAA Rookie of the Year Tony DiBitetto (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) paced the Seahawks with a one-under par 71 which featured three birdies on his final five holes. Bill Lewis (Westfield, Mass./ Westfield), the 2002 CAA Rookie of the Year, tacked on a 72 which included a back nine 35 while junior Marc-Andre Roy (Boisbriand, Quebec) added a 73 and Derek Brown (Walnut Cove, N.C./South Stokes), the only senior on the UNCW roster, recorded a 74. Brown, the second day leader at 4-under par, was able to muster only two birdies against four bogeys in his final CAA appearance and finished the tournament at 2-under, missing a three-man playoff for individual honors by a single stroke.
Towson University's Billy Wingerd (Baltimore, Md./Overlea) rolled in a dramatic 35-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to defeat ODU sophomore Greg Sampson (Warren, R.I./St. Raphael Academy) and James Madison University senior Jay Woodson (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) for the individual title. Following a monstrous 330-yard downwind drive on hole #1, Wingerd played a knockdown wedge just over the green. Sampson and Woodson both reached in regulation and were inside of Wingerd. After the Towson junior dropped his birdie putt from the back collar, Woodson and Sampson both missed from about 20-feet to end the playoff. The loss spoiled a stellar day for Woodson who matched the low round of the tournament with a five-under par 67 while the victory marked the second consecutive strong CAA finish for Wingerd who finished third at the 2003 championship. Sampson was four-under par for the day through 10 holes but posted bogeys on #11, #12 & #14 and closed with a 71. The individual playoff was the third in CAA history (Josh Dickinson, ECU, 1994 & Scott Polen, JMU, 2000).
With the win, UNCW captures the CAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and snaps a string of back-to-back runner-up finishes at the conference championship. The victory is the second this season for the Seahawks who opened the year with a win at the Badger Invitational in Widener's first tournament as head coach. UNCW's three-day team score of three-over is the sixth best score in relation to par in CAA tournament history. The Seahawks were 8-under in 2002 (second best) and 2-over last season (tie fourth best) in posting two of the top five team scores in the CAA record book.
FINAL RESULTS Colonial Athletic Assoc. Champ
Nansemond River G.C. Suffolk, VA
** Playoff Winner
Dates: 04/16 - 04/18 (Today:04-18-2004)
Par: 72
Yardage: 7032
Fin. School Scores
1 N. Car. Wilmington 288 289 290 867
4 Derek Brown 71 69 74 214
8 Bill Lewis 74 71 72 217
11 Tony DiBitetto 72 76 71 219
T 14 Marc-Andre Roy 75 74 73 222
T 19 Brian Joyce 71 75 79 225
2 Old Dominion Univ. 288 297 291 876
T 2 Greg Sampson 70 72 71 213
T 12 Nick Kenney 69 77 74 220
T 14 Adam Condello 76 73 73 222
T 19 Robert Fournier 77 75 73 225
24 Chris Kline 73 77 76 226
3 Towson University 295 298 290 883
** 1 Billy Wingerd 73 68 72 213
T 5 Jeff Castle 71 73 71 215
29 Alex Brueggemann 77 81 72 230
T 41 Mike Larkin 79 86 75 240
DQ Josh Spreng 74 76 DQ
4 James Madison Univ. 293 306 288 887
T 2 Jay Woodson 68 78 67 213
T 17 Jason Robertson 75 74 75 224
T 19 Jairo Irreno 74 76 75 225
T 19 Joe Scheffres 76 78 71 225
37 Dennis Gosier 78 80 78 236
5 Drexel University 299 297 295 891
7 Joe April 73 70 73 216
T 9 Jeffery Michner 72 73 73 218
T 30 Keith Snyder 83 77 71 231
T 30 Tom Clark 76 77 78 231
45 Jack Wallace 78 85 83 246
6 Va. Commonwealth 305 301 293 899
T 5 Manuel Relancio 74 74 67 215
T 9 Jens Fahrbring 74 72 72 218
35 Andrea Perrino 79 80 74 233
40 Daryl Chappell 84 75 80 239
T 41 B.K. Kelley 78 80 82 240
7 George Mason Univ. 299 307 298 904
T 12 Mike Kirby 72 78 70 220
T 17 Mike Cavanagh 73 75 76 224
T 19 Craig Mason 74 74 77 225
T 38 Nick DeSimone 80 82 75 237
T 38 Ben Hogan 80 80 77 237
8 Wm. & Mary, Coll. of 302 299 304 905
T 14 Gary Barton 72 79 71 222
T 25 Hunter Watts 75 75 78 228
T 27 Jeff Steckmest 79 71 79 229
T 27 Matt Brantingham 76 77 76 229
46 Tom McGinn 88 76 83 247
9 Delaware, U. of 308 313 301 922
T 25 Steve Banks 75 78 75 228
T 30 Joe Mclisterr 76 79 76 231
T 33 Daniel Spiker 81 79 72 232
36 J.J. Oakley 78 79 78 235
WD Chase Miller 79 77 WD
10 Hofstra University 325 332 311 968
T 33 Michael Ciccarelli 79 81 72 232
T 41 Chris Spinks 82 82 76 240
44 David Alonzo 80 84 81 245
47 Jason Paul 84 90 82 256
48 Joseph Mandaro 99 85 83 267
