Blue Devils Go 1-1 In Consolation Bracket Of Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship

Monday, March 23

San Diego, Calif.

All Day

Duke University

Day Two

Quagliano, Two Former Blue Devils Qualify For U.S. Open At Torrey Pines

Blue Devils Go 1-1 In Consolation Bracket Of Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship

3/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

RANCHO SANTA FE, CA ? The Duke men's golf team posted a 1-1 record on Monday in the consolation bracket of the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship. The Blue Devils posted a 10-6 tiebreaker win over Arizona State in their morning match before dropping a hard fought 4-1 match to Alabama in the semifinals of the consolation bracket.

"I am proud of the way our guys came back and competed today," said head coach Jamie Green. "We played some solid golf in both matches and can gain a lot of confidence from today's performance."

Duke opened up the consolation bracket of the Collegiate Match Play Championship with a 2-2-1 tiebreaker win over Arizona State. Clark Klaasen led the way with a 6 and 5 win, while Michael Quagliano won 4 and 2 to give the Blue Devils a 10-6 tiebreaker win. Junior Adam Long halved his match against Stephan Gross.

"Clark [Klaasen] played extremely well during the morning round," added Green. "He hit the ball really well and got on a nice run to take control of his match."

Klaasen jumped out early in his match versus Tristan Bierenbroodspot posting wins on No. 10 and No. 11 to go two-up. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native tacked on wins at No. 14, No. 15 and No. 16 to go five-up on the day. Klaasen dropped his first hole on No. 17, but rebounded with wins on No. 1 and No. 2 to get to six-up with seven holes remaining. After losing the third hole, he parred the par 5 fourth hole to cap off the 6 and 5 win.

Quagliano won six holes and lost just two in his 4 and 2 victory over Spencer Fletcher. He was one-down through three holes before winning No. 14, No. 15 and No. 16 to go two-up. Quagliano dropped a hole at No. 2 but responded with wins on No. 5, No. 7 and No. 8 to close the match.

"Michael [Quagliano] is an experienced match play golfer and it really showed today," said Green. "He competed throughout the round and performed very well for us."

Long jumped out to a one-up lead on No. 11, but dropped each of the next two holes to fall behind. He slipped to two-down on No. 15 before winning No. 17 and No. 18 to get back to even. Long and Gross split the next four holes to remain all square with four holes remaining. The St. Louis, Mo., native won No. 6 and carded a birdie from a fairway bunker on No. 7 to push the match to dormie with two holes remaining. Gross recovered to win the final two holes to halve the match.

Anderson dropped a close 2 and 1 match to Knut Borsheim. He won four holes but dropped six holes in his match. Roach fell 4 and 2 to Jesper Kennegard in the opening round of the consolation bracket.

In the consolation semifinals, Duke battled a strong Alabama team right down to the wire with four of the five matches being decided in the final three holes of play.

Roach held on to a slim lead all afternoon with steady play and claimed the lone Duke victory as he topped Matthew Swan, 1-up. The Knoxville, Tenn., native led one-up at the turn before dropping holes No. 2 and No. 3 to fall one-down. He birdied the par 4 fourth hole to get back to all-square before taking a one-up lead with a birdie on No. 7. Roach matched Swan shot for shot over the final two holes to secure the win.

Quagliano got off to a slow start in his match with Matt Hughes falling three-down at the turn. The Ardsley, N.Y. native birdied the first three holes after the turn to get back to all-square. Hughes birdied the par 3 sixth hole to grab the lead, but Quagliano responded with a birdie on No. 7 to tie the match. Hughes claimed a win on No. 8 and matched Quagliano's par on No. 9 to secure the 1-up victory. Quagliano finished the round with six birdies but came up just short in the match.

Anderson dropped the opening hole of his match before getting back to all-square with a par on No. 14. He caught fire to win four of the next six holes to move to four-up with eight holes remaining. Alabama's Hunter Hamrick responded by playing the final eight holes at three-under par to come back for a 2-up win.

Klaasen battled throughout the afternoon round in his match with Spencer Cole but could not gain momentum after falling three-down after six holes. He got back to one-down on five occasions in the closing eight holes but could not get over the hump as Cole posted a 2 and 1 win.

Long won the opening hole in his match and was all-square through nine holes of play before running out of steam against Hunter Slatton. Slatton won four of the six holes after the turn to claim the 4 and 3 win.

Duke will face Louisville on Tuesday in its final match of the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship. Live scoring for the event is available at www.golfstat.com.

"We have played a lot of holes in a short period of time," added Green. "But our players have worked tremendously on their conditioning and I know they are ready to cap off this week with a strong performance tomorrow. Every players on our roster has something positive to draw from for tomorrow's head to head against Louisville."

Consolation Bracket Results

Morning Matches
(16) Duke def. (9) Arizona State, 2-2-1*
(12) Alabama def. (13) Charlotte, 3-1-1
(14) Louisville def. (11) Chattanooga, 3-1-1
(10) San Diego vs. (15) UC Irvine, 3-2

*Duke wins tiebreaker, 10-6

Afternoon Matches
(12) Alabama def. (16) Duke, 4-1
(10) San Diego def. (14) Louisville, 4-1
(9) Arizona State vs. (13) Charlotte, 3-1-1
(11) Chattanooga vs. (15) UC Irvine, 3-1-1

Consolation Bracket

Opening Round
(16) Duke def. (9) Arizona State, 2-2-1*
Adam Long, Duke halved Stephan Gross, Arizona State
Knut Borsheim, Arizona State def. Spencer Anderson, Duke, 2 and 1
Jesper Kennegard, Arizona State def. Wes Roach, Duke, 4 and 2
Clark Klaasen, Duke def. Tristan Bierenbroodspot, Arizona State, 6 and 5
Michael Quagliano, Duke def. Spencer Fletcher, Arizona State, 4 and 2
*Duke wins tiebreaker, 10-6

Semifinals
(13) Alabama def. (16) Duke, 4-1
Hunter Slatton, Alabama def. Adam Long, Duke, 4 and 3
Hunter Hamrick, Alabama def. Spencer Anderson, Duke, 2-up
Wes Roach, Duke def. Matthew Swan, Alabama, 1-up
Spencer Cole, Alabama def. Clark Klaasen, Duke, 2 and 1
Matt Hughes, Alabama def. Michael Quagliano, Duke, 1-up