The UConn men’s golf team participated in the three-day, three-round Big East Championship from Monday to Wednesday at the Callaway Resort and Gardens Course in Pine Mountain, Georgia, where it finished in third place out of 10 participating teams.
The tournament was won by Seton Hall, who finished 15-under par, including an impressive 10-under par on the final day, to win the tourney title by three strokes. In second, came Marquette with 12-under par, which also included a below-par performance on the final day with a third-round score of 6-under. As a team, Connecticut finished four-under par with a three-round total of 860 to claim third place in the tournament. The team shot a 287 in round one, followed by a 283 in round two, and concluded with a 290 in round three. The Huskies’ total score of 860 was nine strokes better than fourth-place Creighton. After two consecutive subpar tournaments for UConn, its Top Five finish marked the 10th time out of 12 tournaments over the fall and spring portions of this season that Connecticut has finished within the Top Five.
Fresh off of receiving Second Team All-Big East honors after leading the Huskies all season, sophomore Caleb Manuel paced UConn and tied for the top spot in the tournament with an aggregate score of 68-66-71, good enough for 11-under par. Manuel actually led all tournament participants after day two, before Seton Hall’s Gregor Tait tied him on day three. With the stellar performance, Manuel has now recorded 17 rounds of par-or-better this season, 14 sub-70 rounds, and eight Top 10 finishes on the season, in addition to two individual tournament victories, with the other coming at the UConn Invitational at GreatHorse back in October.
Sophomore Tommy Dallahan followed behind Manuel with a score of 217, as he finished one-over par and tied for 13th out of 53 tournament participants. His three-round score came to an impressive 72-70-75 as Dallahan dropped three spots after his final round of play, but still managed an impressive tournament performance. Sophomore Jimmy Paradise finished third on the team with a score of 218, equaling an aggregate score of 72-72-74, good for two-over par. The total was good enough to place Paradise 17th in the tournament. Rounding out the team play were senior Jared Nelson and freshman Trevor Lopez, who finished with scores of 221 and 227, good enough to finish 27th and 39th, respectively.
The Huskies will now wait to see where they are seeded in the NCAA Regional, which will take place from May 16-18.
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