Friday, October 20
Bethlehem, Pa.
9:30 AM
Lehigh University
vs
Lehigh Invitational
Strong team effort powers Lehigh to team, individual titles at Lehigh Invitational
10/21/2017 6:18:00 PM | Men's Golf
Final Combined Results | Friday Recap
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After a strong start to the Lehigh Invitational on Friday, Mountain Hawks' head coach Henry D'Alberto challenged his team to be even better on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks responded with a round of two under par 286 to run away with the team title on the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club. Lehigh posted a final score of 581 (295-286) to top the 12-team field and post a 16-stroke victory over runner-up Bucknell.
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It is the first time Lehigh has won its own fall tournament since it moved to mid-October at Saucon Valley Country Club in 2007.
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"I've said this before, but I think this may be the best team I've ever had at Lehigh," D'Alberto said. "Our top four guys really led us starting last year now into this year. Every one of these guys can shoot under par when it counts. They did it today and that was the goal we set forth for today. I didn't want them to focus on winning, I wanted them to focus on shooting under par and as a team, we did."
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Individually, senior Billy Johns and junior Johnny Hsu used strong back nines to tie for individual medalist honors at one under par 143. A matching of cards and a final round 70 gave Hsu the tiebreaker victory.
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After a 35 on the front nine Saturday, Hsu birdied 14 and then eagled the par 5 15th hole to move to one under par. Johns eagled 10 to kick off his back nine and moved into the lead with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 but bogeyed the final hole to shoot 72 on Saturday.
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"It came down to a match of cards and I've always tried to put the team first so they tied," D'Alberto said.
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Sophomore Ryan Kelly was Lehigh's top performer on Saturday, shooting three under par 69 to move into a tie for fifth place at 145 (76-69). After a 43 on Friday's front nine, Kelly played his final 27 holes in six under par. Kelly led Lehigh with five birdies on Saturday.
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Lehigh's other two scoring players were sophomore Owen Quinn, who tied for 11th place at 150 (75-75) and junior Lee Hammerschmidt, who shot 156 (76-80) and tied for 33rd place.
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Johns and Hsu bested Siena's Michael Christifulli and Fordham's Matt Schiller by one stroke. Christifulli and Fordham's Joseph Trim joined Kelly with tournament low round of 69.
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The Lehigh Invitational completes Lehigh's fall schedule. The Mountain Hawks will return to the links in March for their spring campaign. Lehigh will also host the Patriot League Championship in late April on the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club.
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"We made progress throughout the fall," D'Alberto said. "We had the low score at Binghamton but lost on a tiebreaker. This round today and this event should give us confidence going into the spring and hosting the championship on our home course is a huge advantage."
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After a strong start to the Lehigh Invitational on Friday, Mountain Hawks' head coach Henry D'Alberto challenged his team to be even better on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks responded with a round of two under par 286 to run away with the team title on the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club. Lehigh posted a final score of 581 (295-286) to top the 12-team field and post a 16-stroke victory over runner-up Bucknell.
Â
It is the first time Lehigh has won its own fall tournament since it moved to mid-October at Saucon Valley Country Club in 2007.
Â
"I've said this before, but I think this may be the best team I've ever had at Lehigh," D'Alberto said. "Our top four guys really led us starting last year now into this year. Every one of these guys can shoot under par when it counts. They did it today and that was the goal we set forth for today. I didn't want them to focus on winning, I wanted them to focus on shooting under par and as a team, we did."
Â
Individually, senior Billy Johns and junior Johnny Hsu used strong back nines to tie for individual medalist honors at one under par 143. A matching of cards and a final round 70 gave Hsu the tiebreaker victory.
Â
After a 35 on the front nine Saturday, Hsu birdied 14 and then eagled the par 5 15th hole to move to one under par. Johns eagled 10 to kick off his back nine and moved into the lead with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 but bogeyed the final hole to shoot 72 on Saturday.
Â
"It came down to a match of cards and I've always tried to put the team first so they tied," D'Alberto said.
Â
Sophomore Ryan Kelly was Lehigh's top performer on Saturday, shooting three under par 69 to move into a tie for fifth place at 145 (76-69). After a 43 on Friday's front nine, Kelly played his final 27 holes in six under par. Kelly led Lehigh with five birdies on Saturday.
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Lehigh's other two scoring players were sophomore Owen Quinn, who tied for 11th place at 150 (75-75) and junior Lee Hammerschmidt, who shot 156 (76-80) and tied for 33rd place.
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Johns and Hsu bested Siena's Michael Christifulli and Fordham's Matt Schiller by one stroke. Christifulli and Fordham's Joseph Trim joined Kelly with tournament low round of 69.
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The Lehigh Invitational completes Lehigh's fall schedule. The Mountain Hawks will return to the links in March for their spring campaign. Lehigh will also host the Patriot League Championship in late April on the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club.
Â
"We made progress throughout the fall," D'Alberto said. "We had the low score at Binghamton but lost on a tiebreaker. This round today and this event should give us confidence going into the spring and hosting the championship on our home course is a huge advantage."
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