FOREST, Va. – The EMU Disc Golf team had one last tune-up before nationals last weekend, traveling a couple of hours to the Liberty Flamethrower Regional, hosted by Liberty University on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8. The tournament was held across two venues: the New London Tech Disc Golf Course in Forest and the Liberty University East Campus Disc Golf Course in Lynchburg.
Highlights (Singles)
Men's "A" (Beckham Jantzi, Kai Peachey-Stoner, Eli Stoll, Yuji Wenger)
- Eli Stoll and Beckham Jantzi co-led the men's "A" players in singles, both turning in scorecards of four-over-par 74 on the New London Tech Disc Golf Course. Jantzi birdied holes 2, 6, 9 and 17, while the highlight of Stoll's round was a birdie on the par 3 fourth hole.
- Kai Peachey-Stoner and Yuji Wenger finished their singles rounds with scores of 10-over-par 80 and 17-over-par 87, respectively.
- Tyler Peterson of Liberty took the individual championship with a 12-under-par 58, winning by three strokes over Paul Seidel of N.C. State.
Men's "B" (Ivan Betancourt, Caleb Metzler, Willem Hedrick)
- Caleb Metzler had the hottest singles round out of all the Royals, shooting a one-over-par 71. That was good for a tie for 15th in his division. The junior from York, Pa., had a scorecard that included three birdies and an eagle on the par 4 11th hole.
- Ivan Betancourt went around the course in 13-over-par 83, including bridies on holes 6 and 16. Willem Hedrick was right behind him with a 14-over-par 84 with birdies on holes 10 and 14.
Women's "A" (Noami Kratzer, Miriam Rhodes)
- Both "A" women turned in solid singles round, led by Miriam Rhodes with a 16-over-par 76 on the Liberty course. Rhodes birdied the par 3 third hole on her way to a sixth-place finish in women's singles. Naomi Kratzer placed one spot behind Rhodes in seventh, scoring a 17-over-par 77.
- Grace Wilson of Liberty was the top overall woman in singles with a round of two-over-par 62.
Women's "B" (Monica Ehrenfels, Rose Short)
Highlights (Team)
Men's "A"
- The "A" squad opened up team play with a round of four-under-par 56 on the Liberty course. The Royals birdied six holes, including a stretch of three out of four holes.
- The "A" team struggled a bit more in the final team round at New London Tech, going six-over-par 75 for the round. The final round was not without highlights though as the team birdied the 12th hole and Wenger hit a 90-foot putt on the third hole to save bogey.
- The N.C. State "A" squad of Paul Seidel, Grant Woodson, Alex Erdin and Logan Edelman turned in a cumulative team score of 20-under-par, beating Liberty in a playoff for the team title.
Men's "B"
- The "B" team went 14-over-par 84 in their first team round at New London Tech and then wrapped up with a seven-over-par 76 in the final round, finishing with a final score of 23-over-par with the singles rounds factored in. Metzler provided the big play of the final round for the "B" squad, drilling a throw from 130 feet away to get a birdie on the 17th hole.
Women's "A"
- Rhodes and Kratzer competed really well against a strong lineup of women's teams. In their first round at the Liberty East course, they went one-under-par 59. The scorecard included back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th as well as a third birdie on the 16th.
- The Royals finished the weekend with a four-over-par 74. Though a higher score than the first round, Rhodes and Kratzer did one stroke better in the final round than the team from Milligan, who came into the competition ranked third in the country by College Disc Golf. The EMU women's team is currently ninth in the same rankings.
- The best shot of the final round came when Rhodes hit a long putt on the 12th hole for birdie.
- With singles scores factored in, Rhodes and Kratzer finished the tournament with a cumulative score of 20-over-par, which put them third overall behind Milligan and the top-ranked duo from Liberty.
Women's "B"
- Short and Ehrenfels teamed up for a nine-over-par opening round at Liberty East that included a 16th-hole birdie. They went 27-over-par in the final round at New London Tech and placed sixth overall in the women's division with a cumulative 68-over-par.
What's Next
EMU Disc Golf will hit the national stage at the College Disc Golf Nationals to be held on Wednesday-Saturday, April 8-11 in Rock Hill, S.C.
