The GW golf team won the Rehoboth Beach Fall Invitational Monday in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Sophomore Andrew Gallo led the Colonials, shooting an even-par 72 in the first round and a blistering 69 in the second round to claim the individual title.
As a team, GW shot a two-round total 588 to set an overall scoring record for the 36-hole tournament. The team title came down to a dual between the Colonials and a surprising Drexel University team, with the Dragons leading by one shot after the first round. But GW outplayed Drexel in the final 18 holes to win by a single stroke.
“We expected Temple, Villanova or Hartford to be a threat to win and we knew we were one of the stronger teams in the field,” GW head coach Scott Allen said. “It’s a very penal course and it’s easy to watch your scores add up, so we were real surprised to see Drexel shoot so well and a little surprised to see some of the others play so poorly. When Drexel posted their second round score, I was a little worried, but the guys finished strong and won the tournament.”
Temple finished in third place in the 10-team field, a full 25 shots behind GW, with Hartford ending up in fourth place (622) and Villanova taking eighth place (635). The victory was GW’s first team title since the Don Mershon Classic last October.
The individual title was Gallo’s second career victory. Last year, he placed first at the Temple Invitational, a tournament he will defend this weekend. At last year’s Rehoboth Beach Fall Invitational, Gallo finished 20th and the team finished fourth overall.
Backing up Gallo was fellow sophomore Federico Guzman, who posted rounds of 72 and 74 to finish in third place overall, two shots over par. Allen said Guzman originally was not sure if he could play on the A team because of a sore leg, but the Colombia native decided he felt fine on the morning of the tournament.
“I knew he was going to play well because the course sets up well for him,” Allen said. “But with his leg, I was worried about the second 18 (holes). But he never got sore.”
Junior Brandon Muir, a transfer from the University of Louisiana-Monroe in his first year with the Colonials, shot 77-73 to finish in a tie for ninth place. It was Muir’s first top 10 finish for GW.
Freshman Jack Tyler and sophomore Dan Mirabella rounded out the A team, shooting two-round totals of 151 and 155, respectively, to finish in ties for 11th and 19th place.
The GW B team also played well, shooting a team total of 627 to finish in seventh place overall. They were led by freshman Raman Luthra, who shot a two-round total of 152 to tie for 13th place, and sophomore Brian Carroll, who finished one stroke and four places behind Luthra.
The Colonials will travel to the Glenmura National Golf Club in Scranton, Pa., for the Temple Invitational this weekend. The two top schools in GW’s region, Maryland and Penn State University, will both be in the field.
“Penn State and Maryland have more money than us, they have a course on campus … they really have better everything so, generally, those guys have an advantage,” Allen said. “But I feel like we’re closing the gap and we have a shot. If we can play solid like we did at Rehoboth, we can beat one or both of those guys.”
-Jeff Nelson contributed to this report.
