Sept. 21, 2014

KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tenn. — The 12th-ranked South Carolina men’s golf team continued its successful fall on Sunday by defeating No. 13 Virginia 3-2 in match play at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup at The Golf Club of Tennessee.

The match was a part of the Conference Challenge between the SEC and ACC. The ACC won the challenge 16.5-13.5. The Gamecocks finished fourth during the stroke play portion of the event on Saturday.

The Gamecocks fell behind 1-0 as sophomore Ben Dietrich, who was the first to tee off, dropped a 3&2 decision to Virginia’s Austen Truslow.

However, senior Caleb Sturgeon and junior Will Starke put the Gamecocks up 2-1. Sturgeon never trailed Virginia’s Jimmy Stanger as he won his match 3&2. Starke, who finished second during stroke play, won the first hole of his match against Virginia’s Ji Soo Park and never let go of the lead on his way to a 4&3 victory.

After tying for fourth in stroke play, junior Matt NeSmith clinched the win for Carolina as he won his match against Virginia’s Derek Bard, 3&2. NeSmith was 3 down through seven holes but won six of the next nine holes to give the Gamecocks the decisive third point.

Senior Will Murphy battled back and forth with Virginia All-American Denny McCarthy as the match went to the 18th tee at all square. Murphy bogeyed No. 18, while McCarthy made par to win the match 1 up.

In the other matches, Georgia defeated Louisville 3-2, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt tied 2-2-1, Missouri and Duke tied 2-2-1, North Carolina State defeated Texas A&M 4-1 and Clemson claimed a 3-1-1 win over Ole Miss.

Match Changer
NeSmith clinched the win for the Gamecocks by winning six of his final nine holes against Bard.

Key Stat
NeSmith played the final nine holes at 2-under and did not record a bogey during that stretch. Starke was bogey-free through 15 holes and had four birdies.

Notable
• The Gamecocks and Georgia tied for the most points among the six SEC teams with three each.
• Sturgeon and Starke never trailed in their matches on their way to winning 3&2 and 4&3, respectively.
• NeSmith won six of his final nine holes to win his match 3&2 after being 3 down through seven holes.

Quotable
South Carolina head coach Bill McDonald
“We had a great match against Virginia today and were fortunate to come out on top. The match between Will Murphy and Denny McCarthy was very exciting and came down to the last hole. Overall I thought we played some pretty good golf this week, and I’m proud of the guys for their effort.”

Up Next
The Gamecocks will host the Camden Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 18-19 to wrap up their fall schedule. The 54-hole event will be held at Camden Country Club in Camden, S.C.

South Carolina ResultsAusten Truslow (UVA) def. Ben Dietrich (SC)     3&2Caleb Sturgeon (SC) def. Jimmy Stanger (UVA)  3&2Will Starke (SC) def. Ji Soo Park (UVA)      4&3Matt NeSmith (SC) def. Derek Bard (UVA)     3&2Denny McCarthy (UVA) def. Will Murphy (SC)   1 up
Match ResultsSouth Carolina def. Virginia 3-2Georgia def. Louisville     3-2Vanderbilt tied Georgia Tech    2-2-1Missouri tied Duke      2-2-1NC State def. Texas A&M     4-1Clemson def. Ole Miss       3-1-1