ECU’s Jonathan Hill Scores First Collegiate Victory

 By STEVE WILLIAMS

Jonathan Hill and the East Carolina Pirates have made a fast move up the national rankings.

Hill, a senior from Kernersville, scored his first collegiate win Oct. 22 at the Pirate Fall Intercollegiate at Bradford Creek Golf Club, helping ECU to a second-place finish.

Hill fired rounds of 66, 69 and 66 and then defeated Eastern Kentucky’s Brandon Brown in a five-hole sudden death playoff.

“I am really proud of Jonathan and the way he played,” said ECU coach Kevin Williams. “His play was unbelievable in really harsh conditions. The course was running long, and it was extremely windy and rainy out here this week. He has played extremely well all fall, and I’m glad he was able to earn his first collegiate win here at home.”

Hill, who was a standout at East Forsyth High, has been a starter for all four of his seasons at ECU but his stretch of play this fall has been his best. His 15-under-par effort set a school record and the 201 total broke the tournament record.

He also claimed a third-place finish in the Mid Pines Intercollegiate (67-75-68) and a tie for third in the Adams’ Cup of Newport (72-72-71). The showing in the fall tournaments have given Hill a national ranking of No. 95 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.

The Pirates, meanwhile, have climbed to a No. 53 rank in the country with one championship and two seconds in fall tournament play.

ECU’s team victory came in the Carolina First Intercollegiate at Florence, S.C. where the Pirates shot a final-round 290 for a 870 total and edged Francis Marion by one shot and UNC-Wilmington and Old Dominion by two shots.

Junior Jason Harris, All-Conference USA for ECU last season, has a couple of top-10s to his credit this fall, including a seventh at the Pirates Fall Intercollegiate (73-69-70).

It’s been a victorious fall for several other players who hail from the Triad.

Dustin Bray of Asheboro picked up two more collegiate crowns for UNC-Chapel Hill, Derek Brown of Walnut Cove notched his third career win for UNC-Wilmington and James Stewart of Advance scored his first win for Methodist.

Bray, the reigning ACC champion, picked up where he left off and is ranked 10th in the country by the Golfweek/Sagarin Index.

Bray, averaging 70.5 per round, won the International Collegiate at St. Andrews, Scotland Sept. 6-7 (72-68-68) and tied for first in the Ridges Intercollegiate at Jonesboro, Tenn. Sept. 14-15. In his other tournament, the Carpet Capital Classic, he used a final-round 67 to tie for eighth.

The Tar Heels, with a second, third and seventh in team play against strong fields, have climbed a seventh-place rank in the nation.

At the Ridges Tourney, Carolina finished two shots off the pace of Wake Forest.

Bray ended in a tie at the top with five players, including two of his ACC brethren. Bray shot 72-71-72 while Bill Haas of Wake Forest shot 73-72-70 and Leif Olson of Duke carded 70-70-75.

Wake’s win there followed its victory International Collegiate in Scotland. The Deacons, ranked third nationally, won that event by nine shots.

Wake played in three more tournaments, placing 11th in the Carpet Capital Collegiate, sixth in The Preview, and tied for fourth in the rain-shortened Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate.

Haas also claimed a co-medalist honor at the Carpet Capital.

Brown, a junior, has been superb all fall for UNC-Wilmington, leading the Seahawks’ climb up the national rankings (currently 25th).

He shot 72-68-68 to win the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate at Brighton, Colo., Oct. 14 and also has a pair of second-place ties on his record. He shot 70-71-69 at the Badger Invitational and 72-68-71 at the River Landing Intercollegiate.

With Tony DiBetetto taking first and Brown and Adam Gee among the three players tied for third, UNC-W rolled to a 22-shot win at River Landing with team scores of 292-281-282.

Stewart, a junior, picked up his first title at Salem Glen CC in Clemmons as he won the Greensboro Invitational Oct. 8.

Stewart shot a pair of 70s, then defeated Oglethorpe’s Corey Garner on the third hole of a sudden death playoff.

The Monarchs finished second in the event, nine shots off the pace of North Carolina’s B team.

Stewart continued his strong play the following week in the Gordin Classic at the Deer Track course in Surfside Beach. He shot 70-72 to finish second individually and help the Monarchs to another second-place team showing, their fourth of the fall.

Chris Clark of Martinsville, a senior at Radford, nearly joined the winners’ list but lost in a playoff for the championship of the Chattanooga Intercollegiate at Signal Mountain CC in Tenn.

Clark, who shot a second-round six-under-par 65 on his way to a five-under-par 213, lost in the playoff to Jacksonville State’s Matias Anselmo, who birdied the first extra hole.

 Freshmen Watch

 Several freshmen from the Triad have made their way into the starting line-ups on their college teams this fall.

Brant Stovall of Lawsonville has notched a pair of third-place finishes for Guilford and Chris Lowman of Siler City has also been a big factor for the Division III defending national champions’ rebuilding efforts.

Tim Dillon of Greensboro helped Davidson to the championship of the Sea Trail Intercollegiate.

Nick Baker of Madison has been a regular for UNC-Greensboro, Andrew Lewis of Winston-Salem has seen action at N.C. State and Alex Yates of Winston-Salem has played in one tournament at Wake Forest.

 Women’s Team

 The defending national champ Duke Blue Devils’ haven’t been dominating this fall and are currently ranked fifth, but freshman Liz Janangelo of Connecticut has done her part.

She won the Tar Heel Invitational at Finley Golf Course Oct. 6, shooting 67-68-75.

Duke has played a portion of the fall slate without defending individual champ Virada Nirapathpongporn.

North Carolina, and Tar Heel senior Ashley Prange, has put together several brilliant fall tournament showings. The Tar Heels are ranked 15th by Golfweek and Prange is 12th individually, the highest ACC player besides Janangelo (seventh).

Prange’s individual medal helped UNC to a fourth-place team finish in the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Knoxville.

Wake Forest and N.C. State are ranked 31-32 in the Golfweek listings, despite mediocre play in the fall against top competition. The Deacons’ best showing in three events has been seventh while State managed a tie for fifth.

UNC-Wilmington (No. 32), East Carolina (No. 46) and UNC-Greensboro (No. 56) also have achieved top 60 rankings in the fall.

UNC-W set tournament records for single round (295) and overall score (897) to successfully defend its title in the Bay Tree Invitational at Bay Tree Golf Plantation at Myrtle Beach in early September.

ECU claimed the tournament title of the Lady Pirate Fall Intercollegiate Oct. 15 and has also had a second, third and fourth.

The Pirates’ Adrienne Millican, a sophomore from Fuquay-Varina, won her second career title at the Bay Tree Classic in early September. 

At the Louisville Cardinal Cup Sept. 24, UNC-G’s Jenny Gleason shot 70-75-72 and won by seven shots, helping the Spartans’ to a second-place finish.

Elon captured the Sea Trail Intercollegiate at the Willard Byrd Course in Sunset Beach, Sept. 22. The Phoenix, led by Megan Olds’ first (77-77 – 154) and Becky Poindexter’s third (76-79), won the 13-team event by 11 shots.