JANE LEW, WV -- Firing a 74-76, two day 150 total, Billy Clusman, Junior (Urbana HS), birdied the last hole, MEDALED and paced the Rams to a Fourth Place finish at the Stonewall Jackson Invitational. Coming in second to
Clusman was Scott George of Concord College, the 2001 Player of the
Year.
Playing the TOUGH, WET, and TREACHEROUS Arnold Palmer par 72 course,
the Rams finished day one in second place. At that time they were one
stroke better than host WV Wesleyan (home course) and had a two stroke
edge on nationally recognized Indiana University of PA. Ohio Valley,
the #1 ranked team in the region led from wire to wire, Wesleyan
advanced, and the Rams stumbled as Indiana moved to third as the tourney
ended. Both days were played in sub 60 degree weather and the course
was totally saturated from recent rains. This accounted for the
inflated scores as the fairways allowed for little or no run out. The
field of 11 teams played the first day at a snail’s pace 6 hours.
Second day was a little better at 5 hours. The course is a cart
designed layout and teams were shuttled between holes 14 and 15 as the
course moved over a hillside. The course was in excellent condition
except for the soggy turf conditions.
COACH'S COMMENTS: "I cannot express my congratulations high enough for
what Billy did today! He battled both days and really ground it out coming in! When he really had to, he charged and showed great mental toughness. I was a little upset by the play of a few as day one ended. We did not play conservatively on a course that was punishing to bold shooting. I
really felt that we could have had a better cushion as day one ended. Day two showed our lack of punch at the four spot, but the home team of Wesleyan and IUP also had good rounds. We need to be more 'tourney tough' when the game's on the line! Today was a good learning experience in that regard, and will help as we play this spring. David Bradshaw rebounded nicely and really charged hard at the end. Chris Butcher battled both days, but was disappointed in his showing.
Justin Hockman needs to be a little tougher, but both he and Chris are also just freshmen. Goeff Howard's game was just not matched to this degree of a course. It was also only his second ever tournament at any level. We really need one more top notch gamer!"
RAMS Ranked Sixth Regionally
First National Golf Stat reporting shows the Rams to be ranked 6th in
the 16 team Pennsylvania/West Virginia Region of the NCAA. At the end
of the fall, the top EIGHT teams will be invited to the NCAA Regional
Championship to be staged this year in April and at Syracuse, NY. Winner
of that three-day event goes to Nationals. The Rams have never been to
a regional championship.
Next Event - The last event of the FALL season will be staged this
weekend at Eagle's Landing in Ocean City, Maryland. The field is set at
16 teams with the RAMS teeing off at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday.
-Mike Jacobs
Final scoring:
1. Ohio Valley 305 321 626
2. West Virginia Wesleyan 316 312 628
3. Indiana (PA) 318 313 631
4. Shepherd 315 322 637
5. Concord 322 321 643
6. West Liberty 324 320 644
7. Potomac State 324 322 656
8. Fairmont State 339 326 665
9. Wheeling Jesuit 340 338 678
10. WVU-Tech 383 351 734
Final Shepherd Individual scoring:
Billy Clusman 74 76 150 (1st)
David Bradshaw 80 78 158 (T-11th)
Chris Butcher 80 81 161 (T-17th)
Justin Hockman 81 87 168 (T-30th)
Jeff Howard 99 94 193 (48th)