April 16, 2006
PINEHURST, N.C. (April 16, 2006) - The Mason golf team shot its best round today with a 303 in the three-round CAA Championship this past weekend at the Pinehurst No. 6 course, but didn't move from the seventh spot they held yesterday. Newcomer Georgia State shot a final round 291 and cruised to a 22-shot victory on Sunday afternoon. It was the first CAA title for the Panthers in any sport in their inaugural season as a member of the conference.
Georgia State, which is 10th in the nation in the latest Golfstat rankings, completed the 54-hole event at 19-over par 871. VCU finished in second at 893 after posting the best team performance on Sunday with a 6-over par 290. James Madison (903) placed third. The Patriots (927) finished just seven strokes off of fourth place held by defending champion UNC Wilmington.
Three of the Patriots carded their best round of the tournament on Sunday. Junior Dan Hurley led Mason today shooting a 3-over 74 to finish tied for 17th overall. Nick DeSimone shot a 75 today and Mike Cavanagh recorded a 76 to finish tied for 33rd and 37th. Senior Mike Kirby, who went into today's match in sixth place, finished tied for 12th after scoring a 78 on the final day. He has finished in the top 12 in the CAAs the past three seasons, with his best finish last year in eighth place.
Georgia State freshman Mark Haastrup, the 2006 CAA Rookie of the Year, earned individual medalist honors after firing a 2-under par 69 to finish at 1-over par 214 for the event. VCU senior Manuel Relancio, who owned the 36-hole lead, finished second at 2-over par 215 after shooting 72 on the final day.
The Panthers earn the CAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Golf Championships, which gets underway with regional competition on May 18-20.
The Patriots will finish their season next weekend at the Rutherford Intercollegiate at Penn State.
7 George Mason 313 311 303 927
12 Mike Kirby 72 77 78 227
T17 Dan Hurley 78 78 74 230
T33 Nick DeSimone 83 78 75 236
T37 Mike Cavanagh 82 79 76 237
T47 J.J. Amoroso 81 78 81 240
Fin. Teams Scores
1 Georgia State Univ. 286 294 291 871
2 VCU 295 308 290 893
3 James Madison Univ. 306 306 291 903
4 N. Car. Wilmington 309 306 305 920
5 Delaware, U. of 303 313 308 924
6 Towson University 319 298 308 925
7 George Mason 313 311 303 927
8 Wm. & Mary, Coll. of 316 312 300 928
9 Old Dominion Univ. 314 313 304 931
10 Drexel University 322 310 308 940
11 Hofstra University 324 320 315 959
