The GW golf team won the GW Invitational this weekend in Issue, Md., marking the Colonials’ second victory of the year while moving them closer to the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 1947.
Following last week’s fourth-place finish at the William and Mary Colonial Invitational, the Colonials shot a two-round team score of 596 to finish three shots ahead of Princeton University and eight shots ahead of third-place Temple.
“The guys came in and they knew what they had to do,” GW head coach Scott Allen said. “They knew that anything short of a win here was going to be disappointing for us, so they went out and beat 23 other schools.”
Sophomore Brian Carroll led the Colonials, shooting a first-round 71 and second-round 73 to finish at even par, good for second place individually. Lehigh’s Nam-Kyu Park won the invitational, opening with a Swan Point Country Club course and tournament record 67 and closing with a 71 to finish six under par.
Allen said he expects his team to be ranked as high as sixth in the mid-Atlantic region when the rankings are updated in the next 10 days, which is significant because the region receives four berths into the NCAA Tournament. The Colonials could also get in by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament, which is held at the end of April, but Xavier remains the favorite for that title.
So far this year, GW has beaten the region’s No. 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 teams and the Colonials will try to keep finishing ahead of Top 10 rivals to make a case to the regional NCAA selection committee, which Allen chairs.
“I know that we’ll at least get a fair look,” he said. “Obviously if our numbers aren’t deserving, being in the chair won’t matter, but I know we won’t be overlooked.”
In September, GW won the Rehoboth Beach Fall Invitational, which it also hosted, and the Colonials will go for this year’s trifecta when they host the Rehoboth Beach Spring Invitational April 12.
Before then, GW will face many of the other top teams in the region at the Navy Spring Invitational next weekend and the Princeton Invitational in two weeks.
