The Tar Heels saw their time in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship come to an end on Tuesday in Scottsdale, Arizona when they fell to No. 1 seed Arizona State in the match play portion of the event by a score of 3.5 to 1.5.

As a result, UNC finished the event in a tie for fifth place overall — the program’s best finish at the NCAA Championship tournament since taking third back in 1993.

Freshman Peter Fountain — this year’s ACC champion — was the only Tar Heel to win his individual match on Tuesday, defeating Arizona State’s David Puig 2 & 1.

Sophomore Austin Greaser trailed by three holes, but rallied to end the match in a tie.

Both Ryan Gerard and Ryan Burnett were defeated 4 & 3, while fifth-year senior Austin Hitt lost his final collegiate match by a score of 2 & 1.

This was UNC’s first top-10 finish at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship since 2003 and 22nd top-10 finish in program history. The Tar Heels were attempting to win the school’s first national title in men’s golf.

For the season, UNC won three of the nine tournaments it competed in — including this year’s ACC Championship. The Tar Heels

Including the fifth-place tie this week, UNC finished among the top five in eight of its nine total events and finished sixth in the other.

“Overall, this was a great season for us,” head coach Andrew DiBitetto said afterwards. “The preseason rankings had us as the 28th best team in the country. It’s safe to say we proved to be much better than that. We have a lot to be proud of and we are all confident that the future of our program is very bright. Our program is filled with people who work hard, do things the right way, and want to climb to the very top of the mountain.”

 


Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.