Newcomers Shine as Flyers Men's and Women's Golf Teams Prevail in Fall Opener
Five weeks ago, Ben Read arrived in Pinehurst from the country of Scotland. About five months back, Trinity Ahing was contributing to Western Carolina University women's team's fourth place finish at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate in Morganton, NC.
At the Flyers Fall Invitational held at Longleaf Golf and Family Club on Monday and Tuesday, the pair made their debuts for the Sandhills Community College men's and women's teams, posting sub-par final rounds that earned each medalist honors.
They also contributed to first place finishes by their respective teams.
Freshmen Stand Out For Flyer Men
Read shot a 4-under par 68 on Tuesday. His 36-hole score of 73-68-141 was four strokes better than teammate Joey Pritchard, also a freshman.
In the field of eight teams and 40 golfers, Read was a member of the Sandhills A squad that posted a 36-hole score of nine-over par to take first place by nine strokes over the Sandhills B squad, that included Pritchard. Columbia College finished a distant third.
For Read, Tuesday's bogey-free round was a first. He was attracted to Pinehurst because of its reputation for golf.
"I always wanted to play college golf," he said. "It's been fantastic so far."
Four other freshmen recorded top ten finishes for Coach Gus Ulrich's squad, including Supanat Rvjiranan, Liam Harris, Watcharakan Chankarn and Cole Howard. Sophomores finishing in the top 10 were Tyler Owens and Logan Hay.
"I was encouraged by the performances of a lot of the players," the coach said. "Ben played super and for him to come over, and in this short amount of time have success, is a good sign."
Lady Flyers Get off to a Solid Start
The women's tournament included the Sandhills and Spartanburg Methodist teams along with eight golfers competing as individuals from three other colleges.
Ahing made five birdies on Tuesday in the process of posting a career-best tournament score, finishing with a 78-71-149 total.
Sophomores Scotty Foley, 81-84-165, and Ava Ray, 87-83-170, finished in a tie for second and fourth places respectively. Also for the Lady Flyers coached by Herb Pike, freshman Cidney Revelle, a product of Grace Christian School, shot 107-106-213.
A graduate of New Bern High School, Ahing learned about Sandhills from a friend and is majoring in psychology. After completing her one year of eligibility to play golf for the Lady Flyers, she plans to resume her career at a four-year college.
"That was a good day, I'll take it," she said of Tuesday's round.
Coaches Look Forward to Annual Trek to Chautauqua Next June
Playing as individuals, three months ago, Foley and Ray finished first and second at the inaugural NJCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship held in Chautauqua, NY. Now with four players, Pike is looking forward to the Lady Flyers competing as a team next June.
The stakes will be higher for Ulrich's team that will be competing for a third consecutive national title.
The Flyers won last June by 89 strokes over second place Georgia Military College.
The sophomores include Alex Martin, who earned first team All-American honors with a third place finish and Adam Hathaway who earned second team recognition for his 11th place finish. Hathaway, gained an extra year of eligibility because of Covid and could have the rare distinction of competing for a third title.
"We have some really good new guys," Hathaway said. "It's a good situation to be in and I think we have a good chance of winning."
It's early, but Ulrich says that he is already excited.
"We'd love to keep the string going," he said. "It's exciting to know we're even more deep as a team than last year."
Team scores – Men: 1. SCC A 296 –297-593; 2. SCC B 290-306-596; 3. Columbia College 306-313-619; 4. USC Sumter 332-322-654; 5. Central Carolina CC 341-337-678; 6. Patrick Henry CC 357-350-707; 7. Davidson-Davie 365-346-711; 8. Mid-Atlantic Christian 363-357-720.
Individual leaders – Men – 1. Read (SCC A) 73-68-141, 2. Pritchard (SCC B) 71-74-145, 3. Rvjiranan (SCC ind.) 73-73-146, T4. Harris (SCC A) 76-72-148, T4. Chankarn (SCC B) 73-75-148; T6. Owens (SCC B) 72-78-150, T6. Howard (SCC ind.) 77-73-150, T8. Dillon Hite (COL) 72-79-151, T8. Logan Hay (SCC A) 72-79-151, 10. Brandon Griffin 77-75-152, T11. Noah Maness (SCC A) 75-78-153, T11. James Baldauf (SCC B) 74-79-153.
Team scores – Women – 1. Sandhills CC 353-344-697; 2. Spartanburg Methodist 369-363-732.
Individual leaders Women – Ahing (SCC) 78-71-149, T2. Foley (SCC) 81-84-165, T2. Lindsey Hoile (COL) 83-82-165, 4. Ray (SCC) 87-83-170, 5. Taylor Strickland (SPM) 84-88-172, 6. Joy Outhous (SPM) 90-90-180, 7. Sydney Amerson (COL) 107-82-189, 8. Lindsey Greene 101-91-192, 9. Ellison Phillips (SPM) 94-99-193, 10. Reese Robinson (USCS) 97-102-199.
C. Bergmann