HUSKIES DOMINATE EN ROUTE TO SURF CLUB INVITE TITLE
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The UConn men's golf team notched their third team title of the 2023-24 season and did so in dominating fashion, finishing 14-strokes up over 54-holes to lay claim to The Surf Club Invitational Championship on Tuesday.
UConn finished with a three-round score of 825 (-27) to best the 18-team field on the par 71, 6,696 yard course at The Surf Golf and Beach Club. UConn led after day-one's 36 holes, posting a 278 and 274 and the Huskies put the tournament away on Tuesday with a round of 273, tying the school record for lowest round score (273-Rd1 at FAU Spring Championship/2017-18).
The Huskies finished in front of Radford in second place (-13), host Appalachian State (-12) in third and fellow BIG EAST member Butler (-8) in fourth.
"I am really pleased with this result," stated head coach Dave Pezzino, who earned the 19th team title of his UConn career with the win. "We came down here with a mindset that we have talked about at length and stayed true to it. We showed a ton of patience on the course, and I thought course management was excellent.
Four Huskies finished inside the top-25 at the event led by junior Ray Dennehy (Princeton, Mass.) who finished tied for the top-spot Appalachian State's Addison Beam. Dennehy fired a three-round score of 203 (70-64-69) to finish -10 under. After tying for medalist honors, Dennehy came up short in a playoff with Beam, losing on the first hole (par-3/18th) with a bogey to Beam's par.
Dennehy's second round 64 is the lowest round by a Husky this season and is tied for the second lowest round ever posted by a player in program history. He finished the tournament firing 13 birdies and had an eagle.
"I'm really proud of Ray and how far he has come with his development in his time here," said Pezzino. "Ultimately, he lost in a playoff, but he will come away from these two days with plenty that will serve him well and he can carry on with him in future events."
Senior Jimmy Paradise (Tampa, Fla.) had his first top-20 finish of the season, coming in tied for 11th place after a 210 (65-78-67), -3 under performance. Paradise had his best round of the season, shooting a -6 under 65 on Monday's opening round.
Freshman Alex Heard (Boca Raton, Fla.) continued his tournament-to-tournament improvement, recording another season-low 54-hole score by posting a -1 under 212 (74-71-67) to earn his first career top-20 finish, tying for 17th.
Senior Tommy Dallahan (Simsbury, Conn.) finished even at the event, carding a 213 (69-67-77) to tie for 23rd. Dallahan matched his low-round of the season with a second round 67 (-4) and leads the team with 10 rounds at par or better in 18 total rounds played this season.
Sophomore Connor Goode (Glastonbury, Conn.) rounded out UConn's top-five finishing tied for 52nd overall with a score of 218 (76-72-70). Freshman Bradley Sawka (Ellington, Conn.), playing as an individual, was also 52nd at 218 (74-71-73). Also playing as individuals, junior Eric Boulger (Walpole, Mass.) was tied for 77th at 224 (77-70-77) and freshman Jack Kantowski (Boca Raton, Fla.) was tied for 88th at 228 (78-72-78).
"Overall, I thought the conditions here were pretty challenging and emphasized discipline and course management as the keys. The guys have really bought in and that has me excited for the rest of the season. Those are the traits that are hallmarks of elite teams, and we are starting to show signs of that."
The Huskies return to tournament play on March 25 and 26 when they take part in the Pathway to Progression Tournament at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.
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