SMU Bishop Invitational (Final Results)
DUPONT, Wash. – With the eighth-best team score on the last day of action to finish up the SMU Bishop Invitational in 14th place overall, Academy of Art men's golf shot their best round by four strokes in the third round of play as they delivered a 5-over-par 293, with a 29-over-par 893 collectively.
"I'm very happy to have our first tournament under our belt," said ART U Head Coach
Joe Dolby. "We worked really hard for the past three weeks to prepare in all phases, and it was great to see how that preparation played out. We are clearly much improved from last season, but we still have some things to work on, and everyone is on board with what those are and how to approach them."
Senior Giulio Zanichelli sprung up the individual leaderboard on day three, as he shot the second-best individual round out of all 92 competitors with his 4-under-par 68 to finish with a 3-under-par 213, tied for fourth place overall. Zanichelli's performance earned him an All-Tournament Team honor with his top-10 finish.
"We are so blessed to have Giulio leading the way for our team," Dolby said. "His up and downs on the last two holes today were especially clutch, as they were not easy chips or putts, and he still delivered while he finished in in the Top 5 just like we thought he would."
Freshman Mario Stump was next up for the Urban Knights as he put together a 10-over-par 226, while senior Anson Pan was right behind him with a 13-over-par 229. Freshman Ekam Singh followed the trio up with his 16-over-par 232, while freshman Kok Siew "Andy" Chew closed out the team with a 20-over-par 236.
"I was also pleased with how Mario, Ekam and Andy performed in their first event of their college careers," said Dolby. "Anson also displayed a lot of growth over last year. He is in much better control of his mental game, and he is also showing great improvement with his strength and fitness, which makes his good shots better and helps him bounce back more quickly."
Cal State East Bay came out with first place as a team after originally tying with Colorado Mesa, but ultimately won the drop score playoff to secure sole possession of the top spot. Cole Beyer of Colorado Mesa never looked back on the individual scoreboard, as he took the title with a 12-under-par 204, eight strokes ahead of second place.
"We believe we are 10 shots per round better than last year, and this tournament showed we are not far off with that belief, and that we have a chance to be even better than that," Dolby said. "We are excited to get back out there and compete in our next tournament in a couple days, as I believe we can really make some noise up in Bellingham."
ART U will be right back at it next Monday, Sept. 30 as they'll compete in the WWU Invitational in Bellingham, Wash. at Bellingham Golf & Country Club.
