SAU Golf Finishes A Surprising Seventh At CIAA Tournament

DUNN, N.C. (April 15) – Saint Augustine's University concluded the 2022 men's golf season with a surprising seventh-place finish in the two-day CIAA Tournament at Chicora Golf Club. The finish was a pleasant surprise to Head Coach Julius Wells, whose Falcons squad featured players who were novices to the sport. The season appeared lost after several top recruits were unable to play. The golf novices, under the guidance of Coach Wells, grinded through the schedule against more experienced opponents. The Falcons played five straight days this week, including matches on Monday through Wednesday to qualify for the CIAA Tournament. On Thursday, SAU placed eighth out of eight teams after shooting a 427 score. The Falcons came back Friday and shot a 424 score to slide past Winston-Salem State for seventh place with a two-day score of 851. The Rams shot a score of 859 to finish eighth. The Falcons' team featured Shelton White (Sr./Dallas, TX), who was the most experienced player on the team but never played against CIAA competition until this year. The other four players – Zachary Barco (Fr./Raleigh, NC), Juwan Manning (Fr./Raleigh, NC), Elijah Thomas (Fr./Winston-Salem, NC) and Demetrius Fitzgerald (Fr./Nashville, TN) – are on the football team. Despite their lack of golf experience, the players had a respectable showing at Chicora Golf Club. Manning has played golf only three months while the others picked up clubs after a lengthy absence from the sport to support the Falcons' golf team. Their improved play during the year, coupled with the return of this year's top recruits and the addition of several newcomers, has Coach Wells excited about next season. If everything falls in place, the Falcons have an excellent chance to be CIAA contenders in 2023. Livingstone was crowned 2022 conference champion after shooting a two-day score of 582. Virginia Union was second (601) and Fayetteville State finished third (609). Joel Basalaine of Livingstone defeated teammate Xavier Proctor in a playoff hole to win low medalist honors.

Full results are at theciaa.com and golfstat.com.

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Players Mentioned

Shelton White: Senior

Zachary Barco: Freshman

Juwan Manning: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Shelton White
: Senior

Zachary Barco
: Freshman

Juwan Manning
: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Shelton White

Zachary Barco

Juwan Manning

Players Mentioned

Shelton White

Zachary Barco

Juwan Manning

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