HARRISONBURG, Va. – The EMU Disc Golf team played the role of host this past weekend, holding their annual EMU Royals Fall Classic at Westover Park in Harrisonburg on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-16. The Royals went up against blustery weather and a deep, competitive field that featured several nationally ranked teams.
 
Jesse Longenecker successfully defended his men's singles title from last year's home tournament, shooting a round of nine-under-par 47 to edge past Anthony Anselmo of North Carolina and Grant Woodson of N.C. State. For the women, Miriam Rhodes won a one-hole playoff to finish third over Shyann Byrd of North Carolina.
 
UNC's "A" team won the men's team competition with an impressively low score of 37-under-par, while Liberty swept the women's trophies with their "A" team shooting 13-under-par and Cami Burdick prevailing individually at 3-under-par.

Saturday Highlights (Team Round 1)

Men's "A" (Theo Andreas, Beckham Jantzi, Jesse Longenecker, Eli Stoll)

• Starting out at hole 4, the "A" team went toe-to-toe with NC State and UNC's squads, who went into the tournament ranked fourth and seventh nationally, respectively. The team turned in a scorecard at 17-under-par 44 for the opening round, good for second overall and just one back of UNC. At one point, they shot under par on 15 straight holes, including an eagle on the ninth.

Men's "B" (Willem Hedrick, Caleb Metzler, Kai Peachey-Stoner, Yuji Wenger)

• The "B" squad started a little shaky at even par for their first five holes, but then they went on a streak of five straight birdies. A round of nine-under-par 52 put them in a tie for eighth after the opening round.

Women's "A" (Naomi Kratzer, Miriam Rhodes)

• Starting from hole #3 on the course, Kratzer and Rhodes combined for a four-under-par 57 to open the tournament, highlighted by three consecutive birdies on holes 9-11. They entered the next round in second, three strokes behind the Liberty "A" team.

Women's "B" (Monica Ehrenfels, Rose Short)

• The "B" team went 10-over-par 71 for their opening round, most notably birding the 10th hole.

 
Saturday Highlights (Singles Round)

Men's "A"

• Longenecker had an up-and-down start to the round, birding his opening hole (Hole #4 on course) but following that up with a bogey. He then rattled off fourth straight birdies on holes 10-13 before cooling off, heading into his final two holes two back of Anselmo and Woodson. However, Longenecker came through in the clutch with an eagle and birdie while Anselmo and Woodson both bogeyed the group's last hole to open the door for Longenecker to win by one.
• Stoll finished just off of the podium in fourth, overcoming a bogey on the fourth hole to turn in a scorecard of six-under-par 50.
• Andreas carried over his great singles play from the season-opening tournament to score a five-under-par 51, part of a six-way tie for fifth.
• Jantzi went one-over-par 57 for his singles round to place in a tie for 26th.

Men's "B"

• Out of the "B" team members, Wenger had the standout round at four-under-par 52 to finish tied for 11th.
• Peachey-Stoner went one-over-par 57, Metzler was two-over-par 58, and Hedrick rounded out the "B" team singles at three-over-par 59.

Women's "A"

• Rhodes immediately asserted herself as a singles contender with a birdie on her opening hole. She then kept a mostly clean scorecard the rest of the way with just three bogeys and one double bogey on the 18th to maintain a tie for third. After Sunday's action, Rhodes won a one-hole playoff on the fourth hole to break the tie for third.
• Kratzer finished not far behind Rhodes in fifth, shooting an eight-over-par 63.

Women's "B"

• Short placed sixth in the singles round with an 11-over-par 66, highlighted by a birdie on the 10th hole.
• Ehrenfels turned in a scorecard of 25-over-par 80 to finish 10th.

Sunday Highlights (Team Round)

Men's "A"

• The windier conditions on Sunday impacted the "A" team's trip around the course. After shooting five-under-par on the first nine holes of their round, they tripped up with bogeys on their 12th and 15th holes (holes 15 and 18 on course). The "A" team finished strong though with back-to-back bridies to maintain a third-place showing.

Men's "B"

• The "B" squad surged up the leaderboard with a final round of nine-under-par 46 to finish sixth in the team competition. Hedrick, Metzler, Peachey-Stoner, and Wenger combined for a bogey-free round.

Women's "A"

• Rhodes and Kratzer finished strong with a five-under-par 50 on their final round, shooting five bridies with no bogeys to finish comfortably in second.

Women's "B"

• Short and Ehrenfels collaborated on a seven-over-par 62 final round, a three-stroke improvement from their opening team round.

What's Next
EMU Disc Golf will have to wait a while for their next chance to take to the course, competing in the Wolfpack Cross County Classic in February. Exact dates and times are to be determined.