Ducks Finish Second at East Lake Cup

Wednesday, November 2

Atlanta, Ga.

All Day

University of Oregon

East Lake Cup

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

11/02/16 | Men's Golf

East Lake Cup Championship match play

By: Erin Kunesh

ATLANTA, Ga. – The Oregon men's golf team fell to the Illini 3-2 in the championship match of the East Lake Cup at the East Lake Golf Course on Wednesday.

With the win, Illinois has claimed back-to-back East Lake Cup championships.

In the consolation match, the NCAA championship runner-up Longhorns defeated Vanderbilt, 4-1.

On the women's side, Duke defeated 2016 women's NCAA champions Washington Huskies, 3-1. Stanford finished third followed by UCLA after the Cardinal won 3-2.

Full team and individual results can be found at Golfstat.

Complete East Lake Cup results, information, etc. can be found on the tournament website.

How it Happened: After a disappointing first day of the East Lake Cup that earned a No. 4 seed, the Ducks defeated No. 1 seed Vanderbilt 3-2 to advance to the championship match.

The Ducks showed grit in the championship, proving their success from the 2016 NCAA championship carried over to the 2016-17 squad.

Senior Wyndham Clark, ranked the No. 1 collegiate men's golfer, defeated Illini Dylan Meyer 1UP.

Clark was perfect in his East Lake Cup match play, besting Will Gordon of Vanderbilt 2UP on Tuesday and Meyer on Wednesday. The Denver, Colo. native finished tied for sixth after Monday's stroke play (71, -2).

Redshirt sophomore Ryan Gronlund took down Michael Feagles on Wednesday, 5&4. The Pleasanton, Calif. native also went two for two in match play, after defeating Vanderbilt's Theo Humphrey 2UP on Tuesday. Gronlund finished tied for twelfth in stroke play after firing a 75 (+3).

Sophomore Edwin Yi was taken down by Nick Hardy 5&4. Yi went one and one in match play. On Tuesday, the Beaumont, Calif. native defeated Vanderbilt's John Augenstein 2&1. He tied for 17^th with a 77 (+5) after Monday's stroke play competition.

With a final of 2&1, senior Nigel Lett fell to Edoardo Lipparelli of the Illini. On Tuesday, Patrick Martin of the Commodores won over Lett, 5&4. In stroke play, the Beaverton, Ore. native finished in 11^th place with a 74 (+2).

Eugene, Ore. native Sulman Raza was defeated by Bryan Baumgarten, 5&4. Vanderbilt's Matthias Schwab bested Raza 2&1 during Tuesday's semifinals. Raza tied with Gronlund at 12^th in stroke play (75, +3).

East Lake Cup Championship Final:
WOMEN: (No. 3) Duke def. (No. 4) Washington, 3-1
MEN: (No. 3) Illinois defeated (No. 4) Oregon, 3-2

Consolation Final:
WOMEN: (No. 1) Stanford def. (No. 2) UCLA, 3-2
MEN: (No. 2) Texas def. (No. 1) Vanderbilt, 4-1

Championship Match Play Results:
Wyndham Clark (UO) def. Dylan Meyer (Ill.) 1UP
Ryan Gronlund (UO) def. Michael Feagles (Ill.) 5&4
Nick Hardy (Ill.) def. Edwin Yi (UO) 5&4
Edoardo Lipparelli (Ill.) def. Nigel Lett (UO) 2&1
Bryan Baumgarten (Ill.) def. Sulman Raza (UO) 5&4

Day Two Match Play Results:
Edwin Yi (UO) def. John Augenstein (Vandy) 2&1
Ryan Gronlund (UO) def. Theo Humphrey (Vandy) 2UP
Wyndham Clark (UO) def. Will Gordon (Vandy) 2UP
Patrick Martin (Vandy) def. Nigel Lett (UO) 5&4
Matthias Schwab (Vandy) def. Sulman Raza (UO) 2&1

Stroke Play Team Standings:
1. Vanderbilt 282 (-6)
2. Texas 287 (-1)
3. Illinois 288 (E)
4. Oregon 295 (+7)

Oregon Stroke Play Lineup:
T6 Wyndham Clark (RSR.) 71 (-1)
11 Nigel Lett (RSR.) 74 (+2)
T12 Ryan Gronlund (RSO.) 75 (+3)
T12 Sulman Raza (RSR.) 75 (+3)
T17 Edwin Yi (SO.) 77 (+5)

Stroke Play Individual Leaders:
1. Scottie Scheffler (Texas)
T2. Nick Hardy (Illinois)
T2. Will Gordon (Vanderbilt)
4. Doug Ghim (Texas)
5. Michael Feagles (Illinois)

Quotes: Head coach Casey Martin –

On the final result…
"It's nothing but positives. We gave it our best. We didn't have our best stuff, unfortunately. To play a team like Illinois, you've got to be really good. We just didn't have our best stuff today. We have to hit a lot more fairways. Every time I came up on somebody, we were pitching out. I have a great bunch of kids. They're great to coach. We just need to get a little bit better and hopefully we will in the spring."

Senior Wyndham Clark –

On Oregon's East Lake Cup experience…
"It's just a great exposure for our team and for our guys to get used to playing in front of cameras, playing on TV and getting used to playing match play. It's really just a great warm-up for what we're looking forward to and that's nationals. I thought it was an awesome experience and I can see why some of those guys struggle out here, because it's hard."

Redshirt sophomore Ryan Gronlund –

On Oregon's East Lake Cup experience…
"This [event] is something you can't replicate. You get a world class course, you get the TV cameras and for everyone other than these four teams that are going to be at the national championship, no one else gets to experience it until it happens, so I think it's just good experience. We found out what we need to work on. I think all of us need to drive the ball a little bit better, but it was great just to get some pressure tests and see where we hold up and where we might want to improve."

Looking Ahead: With the conclusion of the East Lake Cup, the Ducks have closed the 2016-17 fall season. Oregon will return to action at the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Ariz. on Jan. 23 to Jan. 24.

Follow the Ducks: Follow all of the University of Oregon men's golf action both on and off the greens. Make sure to follow @OregonMGolf on Twitter. Also follow the team on Facebook by "liking" Oregon Men's Golf Team and following Oregon Men's Golf on Instagram.

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