October 28, 2019

Jackets Down Cal, UCLA at Cypress Point Classic

Pebble Beach, Calif. – Without losing an individual match, 6^th-ranked Georgia Tech knocked off No. 33 California and No. 24 UCLA Monday in the first two rounds, and advanced to the finals of the Cypress Point Classic at Cypress Point Golf Club.

The Yellow Jackets, the No. 2 seed in this event, will take on 5^th-ranked and top-seeded Duke Tuesday morning (11 a.m. Eastern time) for the championship of the event. The Blue Devils won Tech’s home tournament, the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational, a week ago. The format for Tuesday’s matches will be singles.

No. 3 seed UCLA will face No. 4 Stanford in the third-place match, while No. 6 Illinois and No. 8 Alabama will meet in the fifth-place match and No. 5 Southern California and No. 7 California will play for seventh place.

Tech won two points and led in the third match against both Cal and UCLA Monday, with its third point undecided in each after the matches were clinched.

Tech’s No. 2 team of senior Andy Ogletree (Little Rock, Miss.) and redshirt sophomore Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.) won twice Monday, defeating California in the fourball format and UCLA in foursomes. Seniors Tyler Strafaci (Davie, Fla.) and Luke Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.) routed their California opponent in fourball, while sophomore Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) and junior Noah Norton (Chico, Calif.) handled their UCLA foe in alternate shot.

Andy Ogletree and Ben Smith (top photo) won both of their matches on Monday.

SEMIFINAL MATCH (foursomes format): Howe and Norton got Tech on the board against the Bruins by closing out the Bruins’ Devon Bling and Bryan Teoh on the 15^th hole with a 4 and 3 victory. Ogletree and Smith clinched the 2-0 victory for the Yellow Jackets by defeating Eddy Lai and Hidetoshi Yoshihara, 3 and 2.

The Jackets’ top team of Strafaci and Schniederjans did not finish their match, holding a two-hole lead with three to play against Sean Maruyama and Chaz Aurilla when the match was clinched.

Duke advanced to the championship match by outlasting Stanford, 2-1, Monday, getting victories from its top two teams of Evan Katz and Chandler Eaton at No. 1, and Quin Riley and QiWen Wong at No. 2. In the consolation bracket, Alabama defeated Southern California, 2-1, while No. 6 Illinois downed No. 7 California, 2-1.

FIRST ROUND (Fourball format): Strafaci and Schniederjans, who teamed up to win their fourball and foursomes matches in this event as freshmen in 2016, led the Yellow Jackets’ 2-0 rout of 33^rd-ranked California with a 7 and 5 victory over the Bears’ top pairing of Kaiwen Liu and Connor Golembeski.

U.S. Amateur champion Ogletree and Smith needed 16 holes to defeat Cal’s No. 2 pairing of Jamie Cheatham and Finigan Tilly to clinch the match for the Yellow Jackets. Tech’s No. 3 team of Howe and Norton led James Song and Kento Yamawaki by two holes with three to play when the matched was clinched for the Jackets.

UCLA dispatched Illinois, 2.5-1.5, getting two victories and a half over the Illini. On the other side of the bracket, Duke blanked Alabama, 3-0, while Stanford edged Southern California, 2-1.

ROUND ONE (FOURBALL)

1 Duke vs. 8 Alabama (Off #1) //DUKE WINS 3-0

Duke – Adrien Pendaries (5) & Steven DiLisio (6) DUKE WINS 2&1
Alabama – Davis Shore (5) & Prescott Butler (6)
Duke – Quin Riley (3) & QiWen Wong (4) DUKE WINS 3&2
Alabama – Frankie Capan (3) & Thomas Ponder (4)
Duke – Evan Katz (1) & Chandler Eaton (2) DUKE WINS 3&2
Alabama – Wilson Furr (1) & Simms Abney (2)

4 Stanford vs. 5 USC (Off #10) // STANFORD WINS 2-1

Stanford – Ethan Ng (5) & Nate Menon (6) TIED
USC – Cameron Henry (5) & Leon D’Souza (6)
Stanford – Henry Shimp (3) & Daulet Tuleubayev (4) TIED
USC – Issei Tanabe (3) & Kyle Suppa (4)
Stanford – David Snyder (1) & Barclay Brown (2) STANFORD WINS 2&1
USC – Yuxin Lin (1) & Kaito Onishi (2)

2 Georgia Tech vs. 7 Cal (Off #1) // GT WINS 2-0

GT – Connor Howe (5) & Noah Norton (6) DNF (GT WAS UP 2 W/ 3 TO PLAY)
Cal – James Song (5) & Kento Yamawaki (6)
GT – Andy Ogletree (3) & Ben Smith (4) GT WINS 3&2
Cal – Jamie Cheatham (3) & Finigan Tilly (4)
GT – Tyler Strafaci (1) & Luke Schniederjans (2) GT WINS 7&5
Cal – Kaiwen Liu (1) & Connor Golembeski (2)

3 UCLA vs. 6 Illinois (Off #10) // UCLA WINS 2.5-1.5

UCLA – Devin Bling (5) & Bryan Teoh (6) UCLA WINS 4&3
Illinois – Adrian Dumont de Chassart (5) & Giovanni Tadiotto (6)
UCLA – Eddy Lai (3) & Hidetoshi Yoshihara (4) UCLA WINS 2 UP
Illinois – Varun Chopra (3) & Brendan O’Reilly (4)
UCLA – Sean Maruyama (1) & Chaz Aurilla (2) TIED
Illinois – Michael Feagles (1) & Tommy Kuhl (2)

ROUND TWO (FOURSOMES)

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

1 Duke vs. 4 Stanford // DUKE WINS 2-1

Duke – Adrien Pendaries (5) & Steven DiLisio (6)
Stanford – Ethan Ng (5) & Nate Menon (6) STANFORD WINS 1 UP
Duke – Quin Riley (3) & QiWen Wong (4) DUKE WINS 3&2
Stanford – Henry Shimp (3) & Daulet Tuleubayev (4)
Duke – Evan Katz (1) & Chandler Eaton (2) DUKE WINS 4&3
Stanford – David Snyder (1) & Barclay Brown (2)

2 Georgia Tech vs. 3 UCLA // GT WINS 2-0

GT – Connor Howe (5) & Noah Norton (6) GT WINS 4&3
UCLA – Devin Bling (5) & Bryan Teoh (6)
GT – Andy Ogletree (3) & Ben Smith (4) GT WINS 3&2
UCLA – Eddy Lai (3) & Hidetoshi Yoshihara (4)
GT – Tyler Strafaci (1) & Luke Schniederjans (2) DNF
UCLA – Sean Maruyama (1) & Chaz Aurilla (2)

CONSOLATION BRACKET

5 USC vs. 8 Alabama // ALABAMA WINS 2-1

USC – Cameron Henry (5) & Leon D’Souza (6)
Alabama – Davis Shore (5) & Prescott Butler (6) ALABAMA WINS 3&2
USC – Issei Tanabe (3) & Kyle Suppa (4)
Alabama – Frankie Capan (3) & Thomas Ponder (4) ALABAMA WINS 2 UP
USC – Yuxin Lin (1) & Kaito Onishi (2) USC WINS 2&1
Alabama – Wilson Furr (1) & Simms Abney (2)

6 Illinois vs. 7 Cal // ILLINOIS WINS 2-1

Cal – James Song (5) & Kento Yamawaki (6)
Illinois – Adrian Dumont de Chassart (5) & Giovanni Tadiotto (6) ILLINOIS WINS 5&4
Cal – Jamie Cheatham (3) & Finigan Tilly (4) CAL WINS 2&1
Illinois – Varun Chopra (3) & Brendan O’Reilly (4)
Illinois – Michael Feagles (1) & Tommy Kuhl (2) ILLINOIS WINS 6&5
Cal – Kaiwen Liu (1) & Connor Golembeski (2)

ROUND THREE (SINGLES)

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET – CHAMPIONSHIP

1 Duke vs. 2 Georgia Tech

Duke – Steven DiLisio (6) vs. GT – Noah Norton (6)
Duke – Adrien Pendaries (5) vs. GT – Connor Howe (5)
Duke – QiWen Wong (4) vs. GT – Ben Smith (4)
Duke – Quin Riley (3) vs. GT – Andy Ogletree (3)
Duke – Chandler Eaton (2) vs. GT – Luke Schniederjans (2)
Duke – Evan Katz (1) vs. GT – Tyler Strafaci (1)

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET – THIRD-PLACE MATCH

3 UCLA vs. 4 Stanford

UCLA – Bryan Teoh (6) vs. Stanford – Nate Menon (6)
UCLA – Devin Bling (5) vs. Stanford – Ethan Ng (5)
UCLA – Hidetoshi Yoshihara (4) vs. Stanford – Daulet Tuleubayev (4)
UCLA – Eddy Lai (3) vs. Stanford – Henry Shimp (3)
UCLA – Chaz Aurilla (2) vs. Stanford – Barclay Brown (2)
UCLA – Sean Maruyama (1) vs. Stanford – David Snyder (1)

CONSOLATION BRACKET – FIFTH-PLACE MATCH

6 Illinois vs. 8 Alabama

Illinois – Giovanni Tadiotto (6) vs. Alabama – Prescott Butler (6)
Illinois – Adrian Dumont de Chassart (5) vs. Alabama – – Davis Shore (5)
Illinois – Brendan O’Reilly (4) vs. Alabama – Thomas Ponder (4)
Illinois – Varun Chopra (3) vs. Alabama – Frankie Capan (3)
Illinois – Tommy Kuhl (2) vs. Alabama – Simms Abney (2)
Illinois – Michael Feagles (1) vs. Alabama – Wilson Furr (1)

CONSOLATION BRACKET – SEVENTH-PLACE MATCH

5 USC vs. 7 Cal

USC – Leon D’Souza (6) vs. Cal – Kento Yamawaki (6)
USC – Cameron Henry (5) vs. Cal – James Song (5)
USC – Kyle Suppa (4) vs. Cal – Finigan Tilly (4)
USC – Issei Tanabe (3) vs. Cal – Jamie Cheatham (3)
USC – Kaito Onishi (2) vs. Cal – Connor Golembeski (2)
USC – Yuxin Lin (1) vs. Cal – Kaiwen Liu (1)

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Cypress Point Classic is a bracketed match play event hosted by Stanford and featuring Alabama, California, Duke, Illinois, Southern California and UCLA, six of whom are ranked among the top 30 teams in the nation by Golfstat. The eight teams competing were pre-seeded No. 1 through No. 8 in order by average ranking between the latest Golfstat and Golfweek rankings. No. 1 seed will play No. 8 seed, etc., in the first round of bracketed play. Winners will go forward in bracket, losers will move to a consolation bracket. Each team will be guaranteed three matches under each format outlined.

The first two rounds were played Monday. Round one featured fourball, or best ball, matches. Teams compete in foursomes, or alternate shot, matches in round two. Round three on Tuesday will feature singles matches.

Each match won is worth one point for his team. In the event a team match is tied 1.5-1.5, total holes won will be used to break the tie and determine the winning team.

The Yellow Jackets are making their second appearance in the event and first since the fall of 2016, when seniors Luke Schniederjans and Tyler Strafaci were freshmen. They helped Tech knock off Stanford and Georgia in the first two rounds. The Jackets lost to Southern California in the final round.

ACC NETWORK HAS LAUNCHED!

The ACC Network is a linear and digital platform dedicated to 24/7 coverage of ACC sports that launched on Aug. 22, 2019. It will exclusively televise approximately 450 live events each year, including 40 football games (beginning with Georgia Tech’s 2019 season opener at Clemson on Aug. 29), as well as 150 men’s and women’s basketball contests.

Don’t get shut out! For more information and to learn if your cable/satellite/digital provider is carrying the ACC Network, visit GetACCN.com. Georgia Tech fans whose cable/satellite/digital providers aren’t carrying the ACC Network are urged to contact their providers and ask for the ACC Network to be a part of their subscription.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF

Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 25^th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 61 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.