Coast April 6 and 7.
After a solid start to the season, the Dragons continued their upward trend at Chambers Bay. The course is definitely very difficult, so Drexel’s sixth-place finish out of 18 schools looked all the more impressive.
Drexel also went up against impressive competition, including No. 10 University of Washington, who finished 52 stokes ahead of Drexel and won the tournament.
Junior Christopher Crawford, freshman Adam Mistretta, freshman Avery Schneider, sophomore Brian Fischer and sophomore Yoseph Dance all had sturdy outings, but it was Crawford and Dance who paced the team, finishing eighth and 15th, respectively.
With Chambers Bay being a tough course to play, it is easy to lose composure and play frustrated. Crawford is a master at keeping his emotions in check, which consistently allows him to be the top golfer in any competition. Crawford began round one of competition with four bogeys, which he was able to counter with three composed birdies to finish one-over par through 18 holes.
Crawford seemed to have figured out the course during the second round as he started off with four straight pars. He bogeyed just one hole in the front nine.
The back nine was even more impressive as Crawford played even par, finishing yet another round just one stroke over par. He entered the clubhouse tied for fifth overall with one round left to play.
The third round seemed to give Crawford some trouble. After starting the round with a birdie, he recorded eight bogeys on the next 15 holes before a birdie on the final hole of the tournament put him at six-over for the day. He finished the tournament eight-over,
and tied for eighth.
The Dragons would not have reached the sixth spot if only one golfer had a great performance. Dance had an outstanding tournament, as he was able to claim a top-15 spot.
Dance carded a six-over par in the first round before calming his nerves and recording four bird-ies over the final two rounds to keep him within striking distance of the top of the leaderboard. He shot a three-round total of 13-over par, good to tie for 15th
overall in the tournament.
The Dragons had three more golfers who helped their cause. Mistretta and Schneider were able to secure a pair of spots in the top 50. Mistretta shot a six over par in the first round, seven over par in the second round and 10 over par in the third round. Schneider shot nine over par in the first round, seven over par in the second round and just six over par in the third round. Fischer rounded the team’s standings out with an 82nd-place finish.
The Dragons will be traveling to Poplar Grove Golf Club in Lynchburg, Virginia, for their next match at Liberty University, April 10-11.