The Rams finished the weekend in eighth out of ten teams in North Carolina. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
After a strong five stroke win at the Carpetbagger Classic on March 19, the University of Rhode Island Golf Team was back in play this past weekend in the Cutter Creek Intercollegiate.
The tournament took place in Snow Hill, North Carolina at Cutter Creek Golf Club. Elon University served as the host school for the tournament.
The first day of the tournament was not one of Rhode Island’s best days, as the team finished tied for seventh place after the first 18 holes, although there was a bright spot for the Rams in the first round. Fourth-year Bryson Richards shot an even-par 72, placing him tied eighth.
However, the next ranked golfer from the Ocean State was third-year Geronimo Narizzano, who finished the first round three-over with a 75. Fourth-year Andrew DiPetrillio finished the round with a four-over 76, and fifth-year Brandon Gillis tallied a five-over 77.
Strong gusts of wind on Saturday saw increased scores throughout the field of play. Rhode Island’s team score bumped up from 300 strokes on Friday to 304 strokes on Saturday. However, this score still tied them for fourth on the day, but they still sat tied-sixth for the tournament.
Second-year Chuck Tragresser led Rhode Island on the second day, posting a score of 73, completing a bounce back performance from a rough 80 on the first day. DiPetrillio complemented this performance with a 74 of his own, and Richards finished with a 77, his worst score of the weekend.
“The second day, since I’ve been [at Rhode Island], was the toughest conditions weather wise,” Richards said. “[The wind] was blowing 25-30 miles an hour, with 40-45 miles an hour gusts. Looking back on it, I wish I had that day over.”
Sunday saw Rhode Island play their best golf of the weekend. A final round tally of 288 brought their tournament total to 892, which placed them in eighth out of ten teams. East Carolina won the weekend with a final score of 868.
Five out of six Rhode Island golfers shot in the 70’s on the final day. Richards finished two-under with a 70, DiPetrillio and Gillis tallied even-par 72s, Tragesser shot a 74 and Narrizano shot 76.
Even with the bottom end result, head coach Gregg Burke is glad that he found his top four golfers that he feels he can consistently draw results from.
“My primary purpose to go down [to Cutter Creek] was to find a strong third and a strong fourth,” Burke said.
Those four golfers were Gillis, Richards, DiPetrillio and Tragesser, in that particular order. Burke feels, however, that DiPetrillio had the best performance out of the four.
“Andrew [DiPetrillio] was the star of the show down there,” Burke said. “He played terrific golf, and only had one double-bogey in three rounds. He played great golf in 25 mile-an-hour winds.”
Burke also mentioned the impact that Richards had on the team’s performance.
“Bryson [Richards] just hits it so well all the time, that nothing he does surprises me when he plays well,” Burke said.
The team and their solidified top four now travel to Villanova this upcoming weekend to compete in the Wildcat Spring Invitational at Lulu Country Club.