Senior Ben Warian took home medalist honors and the University of Minnesota won the team title in the final regular season tournament Tuesday at the High Meadows Intercollegiate in Sylvania, Ohio.
The Gophers finished nine strokes ahead of the field at 19-under par for the tournament after a final round 1-over 285. Their outstanding performance put them fourth all-time in program history for 54-hole team score at 833 (275-273-285).
The Maroon and Gold’s stellar play in the first two rounds Monday elevated them to the top of the leaderboard after the first day by tying the program’s 36 hole scoring record at 548 (275-273).
The team’s win this week at the High Meadows Intercollegiate is the Gophers’ first since winning the MacDonald Cup back in September of 2022.
Quotable:
“Just really happy for our team to experience this win,” said head coach Justin Smith. “Ben was just incredible, winning individually in a dominating way. All the hard work and commitment from everyone pays off on a day like this. We are excited to build on this momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament next week.”
Notable:
With his final round of 70, Warian broke the program’s individual 54-hole scoring record at 198, beating Angus Flanagan’s record of 200 set back in 2019 at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate. Warian took the lead on day one and never looked back, setting the program’s individual 36 hole scoring record (128) in rounds one and two. Warian (65-63-70) nabbed 19 birdies en route to a score of 15-under par for the tournament, winning by five strokes over the field.
Warian’s title is the first for a Gopher since Flanagan won the Git R Done Husker Invitational in April of 2021.
Junior Bennett Swavely (71-68-69) finished the tournament with two consecutive rounds under par, tallying 13 birdies through his 54-hole tournament. Swavely finished with a score of 5-under par and in sixth place, his first top-10 finish this season.
Competing as an individual, sophomore Jack Wetzel (71-73-67)nabbed his best finish as a member of the Maroon and Gold with a tie for 12th place.
Graduate senior Jacob Pedersen (68-74-73) finished his week nabbing 13 birdies through his 54-hole tournament. He finished with a score of 2-over par, tied for 26th (68-74-3).
Junior Eduardo Galdos (75-68-74) finished two shots back of Pedersen, ending in a tie for 31st at 4-over (75-68-74).
Sophomore Cormac Sharpe ended the week with a score of 8-over par and tied for 42nd (71-77-73), while fellow sophomore Mason Roloff finished in 68th overall (79-75-82).
Up Next:
With the regular season now complete, Minnesota turns its attention to the Big Ten Championships, April 26-28, at the Scioto Country Club in Arlington, Ohio.
(info courtesy of Gopher Sports)
(stock photo courtesy of Kelly Haganson)
