Both the men’s and women’s golf teams shared similar success in the final weekend of fall competition, as each team took third place in their respective tournaments and several individual golfers finished highly as well.
The men’s team shot a 25-over (889) for the Mission Inn Intercollegiate, eight strokes behind winner Johnson & Wales (881) and seven behind Florida Atlantic University (882), while the women’s team shot a 73-over (649) in the Sacred Heart Fall Classic, 26 strokes behind Yale (623) and six strokes behind Brown (643) for its third Top 5 finish of the fall season.
Men’s golfer Evan Beirne, a fifth-year senior, won the
individual title Sunday after shooting a 68 (4-under) in the tournament’s final round. Beirne shot a 71 in each of his first two rounds and entered Sunday’s play three strokes back of Johnson & Wales’ Chris Hawley. On the final day, he had two eagles and nine birdies, edging Hawley and Stetson’s Sam Ryder by three strokes for his third Top 5 finish this season.
“It feels good,” Beirne said. “I’ve played well and consistently for most of the fall with two seconds and a fifth [place finish], so I’ve been knocking on the door. Today, I got let in.”
The win was the second of Beirne’s career and the first of any St. John’s golfer since he and Keegan Bradley tied for first at the 2008 Princeton Invitational.
Freshman Ryan McCormick tied for 10th at 223 (+7) and had a team-high 12 birdies in his second Top 10 finish this season, having tied for ninth at the Hartford Hawk Invitational on Sep. 27-28. Senior Mark Costanza and sophomore Peter Ballo tied for 24th overall at 230 (+14), with each tallying nine birdies. Sophmore Pat Wilson shot a 232 (+16) for the tournament and finished 33rd, and sophomore Jeremy Quinn finished 53rd with a 243 (+27).
Junior women’s golfer Ellen Oswald finished fifth individually at Sacred Heart, the highest she’s finished in her career and eight back of the winner, Yale’s Seo Hee Moon’s, 148 (+5). Oswald shot a 156 (+12) in the two-day tournament, as the first day of action was suspended. It was her second top 10 finish of the season—she had tied for eighth at the Towson Invitational on Sep. 13-14.
Freshman Harin Lee finished with a 160 (+16) after shooting an 82 in her opening round, good for a 10th-place tie and fourth top 10 finish in five events this season. She tied for third in the Rutgers Invitational on Oct. 15-16, finished third in the Yale Women’s Intercollegiate on Sep. 25-26 and tied for fifth at Towson.
In shooting a 165 (+21), sophomore Sebin Kim marked her second top 25 finish of the year after also tying for 19th at Towson. Junior Mariana Barrios finished 30th after a 168 (+24), and freshman Stephanie Eybers finished 32nd after a 171 (+27).
