An eagle on the 18th hole of last year’s U.S. Collegiate Championship by Georgia Tech then-sophomore Ollie Schniederjans snatched a win away from UCLA. This weekend, the 2013 U.S. Collegiate Championship will get underway, and the Bruins will have a chance to redeem last year’s tough loss.
The U.S. Collegiate tournament is considered to be a very prestigious event and is sometimes referred to as the “Masters of college golf.” Sophomore Jonathan Garrick said he is excited for the professional-like tournament atmosphere and considers the tournament the biggest and best field of the fall season.
“It feels like a PGA tour field,” Garrick said. “There are 7,000 spectators coming out, it feels like a professional event, it’s a real treat to be part of this event.”
The tournament begins today and concludes on Sunday. Competing for UCLA will be Garrick, sophomore Lorens Chan, sophomore Jake Knapp, redshirt junior Manav Shah and junior Matt Pinizzotto.
In last year’s tournament, the Bruins were in the lead after the second day of play, but a combined 7-over score on the final day of the tournament paired with Schniederjans’ heroics on the final hole led to the Bruins’ one-shot loss.
Chan did not travel to the U.S. Collegiate Championship last season but is excited to have a chance this year to play at the tournament.
“I remember Georgia Tech getting an eagle on the last hole, so they won,” Chan said. “That was disappointing, but this year the five of us going are playing pretty well. Hopefully we can get some revenge.”
Revenge will not come easy for the Bruins though, as there will be a very high level of competition at the tournament. Of the 15 teams in the field, 10 are among the top 22 from the preseason coaches’ poll. This includes five top-10 teams as well.
Coach Derek Freeman feels his team is ready for the competition but will also have to compete against the greater amount of tournament experience the other teams have had in the fall season already.
“For us this is only our second event to play. For most these teams, they have played three, four times,” Freeman said. “We are really just getting started, we are as good as anyone in the country (and) we just need time to show it and work our way into it.”