After placing in the top two in back-to-back invitationals, the UConn golf team headed down to State College, Pennsylvaniato compete in the Rutherford Intercollegiate. Battling it out with the Huskies in the field of 12 were Penn State, Valparaiso, Rhode Island, Georgetown and other schools from across the country.
The stage was set at the beautiful Penn State Blue Course in State College, Pennsylvania. The course is surrounded by the scenic forestation of central Pennsylvania with breezy winds that can be a challenge to players. The course stretches 7172 yards with a par of 72.
Connecticut shot a +11 on day one, sending them to a middling seventh place with two rounds to play. Day two, a 36-hole grind, wasn’t any better as the Huskies slid down to eighth place to conclude the invitational. Connecticut’s season-scoring leader Jared Nelson recorded yet another fantastic performance, shooting a -1 across the tournament. The Rutland, Vermont native’s star performance was highlighted by back-to-back -1 performances in rounds two and three. Nelson was the only UConn player to land in the top ten, finishing in eighth place out of 75 players.
Sophomore Trevor Lopez followed Nelson’s elite showing with the second-highest individual placement for the Huskies. Lopez shot a solid +4, good for an 18th-place finish across the invitational. His performance was highlighted by an impressive -1 in the second round.
Tampa, Florida native Jimmy Paradise shot a +6, finishing just outside the top 25 in 28th place. Junior Tommy Dallahan’s tough +5 showing in the second round sank him down to a 53rd-place finish with Vikram Konanki and Colin Spencer finishing behind him for the Huskies.
The host school Penn State rallied on the final day to win the Rutherford Intercollegiate for the eighth year in a row. The rest of the top five was rounded out by Valparaiso, Georgetown, Rhode Island and Appalachian State. Rhode Island’s Bryson Richards and Valparaiso’s Anthony Delisanti split the honors for the highest individual placement across the tournament.
UConn will return to action in a few weeks, competing in the Big East tournament from April 28-30 at Riverton Pointe Golf and Country Club.
