Nov. 13, 2005
ATLANTA – Mike Barbosa and Adam Cohan earned victories for Georgia Tech, but Georgia’s Kevin Kisner clinched the championship match with a 2 and 1 victory over Tech’s Taylor Hall to give the top-ranked Bulldogs a 3-2 victory Sunday over the Yellow Jackets in the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship.
The annual match play event, featuring 16 teams who are invited based on the previous year’s NCAA Championship finish, was played at the Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
The Yellow Jackets, who are ranked third in the nation but played this event without their top two players, reached the finals despite having no competitor ranked higher than No. 99 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. But they were unable to pull off an upset over a team that had four of its players ranked among the nation’s top 33, and were the runner-up in the tournament for the second straight year.
Three of the five matches between the in-state rivals ended quickly Sunday. The Bulldogs’ Chris Kirk, the nation’s No. 3-ranked player, defeated Tech freshman Cameron Tringale (No. 99), 5 and 4, while Brendon Todd (No. 33), dispatched another Tech freshman, David Dragoo, 6 and 5. Meanwhile, Tech senior Mike Barbosa (No. 157) overcame Georgia freshman Brian Harman (No. 11), 4 and 3, breaking a deadlock through nine by winning four straight holes.
That left two other Tech freshmen, Hall and Adam Cohan, to decide the championship. Cohan never trailed in his match with Richard Scott, building a three-hole lead through nine holes, but the Tech freshman could not close out his opponent until the 17th hole after Scott twice rallied to within one.
Kisner and Hall, meanwhile, were all square through 11 before the Bulldogs’ senior, ranked 30th nationally, won three straight holes to take control of the match. Hall kept the match close, halving their 15th hole and winning the 16th, but was unable to close further.
Barbosa’s win over Harman gave him a 4-0 record in the championship, while Cohan finished 3-0-1 in his four matches. Dragoo, hadn’t trailed since the second hole of his first match Friday, finished 3-1. Hall finished 2-2 for the weekend, while Tringale went 1-2-1.
