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 Brian Carroll leads the GW golf team in stroke average at 71.7. |
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GW Golf Has a Fall to Remember; Aims for 2006 NCAAs
Dec. 27, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC -- The GW Golf team has recently completed what is believed to be the best fall semester of competition in school history, according to GW coach Scott Allen. The Colonials have the 7th-most victories (59) and 7th-best winning percentage (89.39) in Division I. At the midway point of the college golf season, the Colonials have won two events, finished second three times and added a fifth-place finish in six fall tournaments. Their head-to-head won-loss record of 59-7-3 is the seventh-best in the nation, trailing only A-10 foe Charlotte, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Oklahoma St. and Western Illinois. Their 59 head-to-head victories are tied for the seventh-best in the nation, behind only Louisville (67-7), University of Louisiana-Monroe (62-20) who GW defeated at Baylor, BYU (61-15) and San Diego St. (60-16).
In addition to these national standings, the Colonials are ranked second in the 50-team Mid-Atlantic Region by the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee. The NCAA divides the country into nine regions in men's golf. Each region receives a specific number of NCAA bids. The Mid-Atlantic Region receives four bids annually, so the Colonials are in the driver's seat for their first NCAA bid since 1946. The Colonials trail only the University of Maryland in the Regional rankings. GW did not meet the Terrapins this fall but defeated them the last time they competed (at the Princeton Invitational last April).
The Colonials have a balanced roster with six different golfers shooting par or better, but their leader, on and off the course, is senior Brian Carroll from Crystal Lake, IL. Carroll is coming off of a terrific summer of amateur golf, winning the Chicago District Golf Association Championship, finishing second in the stroke play portion of the Western Amateur with 69-65-76-70 and advancing to match play at the U.S. Amateur at Merion CC with 74-70. Carroll won his second career tournament this fall, shooting six under at the Joe Agee Invitational with 68-72-70 and leading the team to the title. Carroll also has eight career runner-up finishes, two of which came this fall at the Penn-Big Five Classic with 70-74 and the ODU-SeaScape Invitational with 70-69. His 71.7 scoring average leads the team and he is ranked No. 91 in the country by Golfstat.
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Two other Colonials started every round this fall. The second-best scoring average belongs to sophomore Tim Johnson (Marblehead, MA). He is averaging 73.8 strokes per round and finished second to Carroll at the Joe Agee, shooting 73-68-72 (three under par). Johnson also posted a 70 this fall at ODU and a 68 to win the URI Invitational last spring. Senior Andrew Gallo (Toronto, Ontario) has won two events in his career and averaged 74.1 this fall. His second-round 68 in high winds at the Philadelphia Cricket Club helped GW pass several teams to tie for the title at Penn.
Freshman Juan Pablo Zuluaga (Bogota, Colombia) eased his way into the line-up and carded a final-round 70 at ODU to help GW tie a school record with a 281 and move the Colonials up from a tie for sixth to second. Juniors Raman Luthra (E. Amherst, NY) and Bob Rohr (Lake Forest, IL) also were steady contributors for GW. Rohr averaged 76.0 and posted a 71 in the Joe Agee Invitational. Luthra averaged 75.6 and fired a final-round 71 at the Rehoboth Beach Invitational to again push the Colonials past four squads on their way to a second-place finish.
The Colonials will have plenty of opportunities to see the top schools in their region this spring and with some solid results will return GW to the NCAAs for the first time in 60 years. The Colonials will kick off the spring season at the Hargrove Davis Invitational at Campbell in Buies Creek, NC on March 6-7.
NCAA Division I Wins Leaders (according to Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings)
Louisville 67-7
Louisiana-Monroe 62-20
Murray State 61-11
Brigham Young 61-15
Austin Peay 61-15
San Diego State 60-16
George Washington 59-7
Xavier 59-10
Texas-Arlington 59-11
Marquette 58-17
Jacksonville St. (AL) 58-8
NCAA Division I Winning Percentage Leaders (according to Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings)
Western Illinois 44-2 95.62%
Georgia 56-3 94.92%
Charlotte 53-5 91.38%
Louisville 67-7 90.54%
Oklahoma State 28-3 90.32%
Georgia Tech 53-6 89.83%
George Washington 59-7 89.39%
Santa Clara 42-5 89.36%
Baylor 51-7 87.93%
Jacksonville St. (AL) 58-8 87.88%
Florida 49-7 87.50%
Minnesota 38-6 86.36%
Xavier 59-10 85.51%
Murray State 61-11 84.72%
Texas-Arlington 59-11 84.29%
Southern Mississippi 53-10 84.13%
Siena 30-6 83.33%
Texas A&M 42-9 82.35%
St. John's 45-10 81.82%
Tulsa 35-8 81.40%
BYU 61-15 80.26%
Austin Peay 61-15 80.26%
Bucknell 40-10 80.00%
