O'Brien, Sun Win, But Pirates Drop Close Match to UConn

Tuesday, February 8

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. / BEAR LAKES COUNTRY CLUB

Morning

Seton Hall University

Connecticut

O'Brien, Sun Win, But Pirates Drop Close Match to UConn

2/8/2022 3:16:00 PM | Men's Golf

HOME

The Hall falls in the BIG EAST Match Play final despite a strong effort during the event.

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. – The Seton Hall men's golf team dropped the title match of the 2022 BIG EAST Match Play event to Connecticut, 3-2-1 on Tuesday. Freshman Angus O'Brien (Barwon Heads, Australia) was the lone Pirate to win all three of his matches during the two-day event.

UConn def. SETON HALL (3-2-1)
After losing only one individual match total in its first two contests against St. John's and Sacred Heart yesterday, the Pirates battled a talented Huskies team for the BIG EAST Match Play title and came up just short.

Trailing by one stroke after 11 holes, O'Brien won holes 12, 13, 15 and 16 to defeat Nick Hampoian, 3&2.

Sophomore Wanxi Sun (Danville, Calif.) went the distance with UConn's Trevor Lopez, winning his match on the 18^th hole. With the match tied after 12 holes, Sun won No. 13, lost No. 14, won No. 15, but lost No. 17 to tie the score again. Lopez carded a six on the 18^th hole, but Sun was able to score a five to win the hole and the match.

Graduate student Gregor Tait (Martlesham Heath, England) also went the distance with Jared Nelson, but 18 holes wasn't enough to determine a winner and they had to settle for a tie. With the score tied after 13 holes, Nelson took the lead with a win on No. 14. Tait bounced back to win holes No. 15 and No. 16 to take the lead, but lost No. 17. Both players shot a four on No. 18 to solidify the tie.

Andres Acevedo (San Antonio, Texas) dropped the opening hole and couldn't draw even for the duration of his match with Caleb Manuel. Manuel went on for a 3&2 victory.

Wenliang Xie (Zhaoqing, China) trailed by three holes after five, but rallied to tie the match after 10. UConn's Tommy Dallahan, however, won four of the next five holes to close out a 4&3 victory.

Senior Deven Ramachandran (San Rafael, Calif.) trailed by as many as six holes on the front nine, but rallied to close his deficit to two on the back nine. Ultimately, he succumbed to Jimmy Paradise in 17 holes, 3&1.

Tournament Details:
2022 BIG EAST MATCH PLAY
Location: West Palm Beach, Fla.
Course: Bear Lakes Country Club
Course Vitals: Par-72, 7,400 yards
Dates: February 7-8, 2022

The Course:
Golfers of all skill levels can enjoy Bear Lakes' pristine courses. The Nicklaus-designed Links Course imitates a seaside Scottish links course, challenging golfers on all 18 holes. The Lakes Course offers tactfully placed bunkers, stunning lakes, and five sets of tees to accommodate golfers at any level of play. Venture into a golfer's dream with this combination of playability and arresting scenery.

The Field:
In addition to Seton Hall, the field featured four other BIG EAST schools, Connecticut, Creighton, St. John's and Butler from the BIG EAST, along with Sacred Heart to round out the field.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will begin tournament play for three rounds of golf at the Loyola Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz., Feb. 20-22.