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Dates: Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27
Format: Each team features 14 players -- 8 regulars, 4 seniors, 2 super seniors. Four-ball and foursome (alternate shot) matches on Saturday, singles matches on Sunday. Winner receives Ye Ole Feudin' Stick. Virginia needs 14 points to retain the stick, West Virginia needs 14.5.
Host site: Chatmoss Country Club
Day 2: Virginia holds off late rally to claim 6th straight win
By Chris Lang
MARTINSVILLE -- Team Virginia held off a spirited rally from West Virginia's seniors and super seniors on Sunday at Chatmoss Country Club to claim a 15.5-12.5 victory in the 41st Virginia-West Virginia Team Matches. Virginia notched its sixth straight win in the event, remained unbeaten at home in the series, and remained unbeaten in the series overall since 2009.
Virginia entered Sunday singles play with a 9.5-4.5 lead, meaning West Virginia needed 10 points to claim a comeback victory. After Virginia super senior Allen Barber opened the day with a 3-and-1 win over Bob Clark, West Virginia won six of the next seven matches to make things interesting. The next three matches went Virginia's way, and the home team clinched the winning point when captain Justin Young defeated Noah Mullens 2 up thanks to a conceded par on the 18th hole.
Three Virginia regulars went 3-0 on the weekend: Young, Joey Jordan, and Nikita Gubenko. Virginia players with two points included Drew Brockwell, Brandon Ramsuer, Sam Beach, Scott Shingler, Adam Houck, and Barber.
The matches return to West Virginia next April.
NOTABLE
- Virginia leads the overall series 35-4-2 and is undefeated in the last 15 playings of the event.
- Gubenko, a former George Mason standout, was a finalist in the 2024 VSGA Amateur Championship. He plans on remaining an amateur while still pursuing his goal of playing professional golf. He'll attempt to qualify for PGA Tour Americas before making a decision to turn pro.
- Brockwell and Jordan went undefeated in partner play and will play together again at next month's VSGA Four-Ball Championship at Williamsburg Golf Club. They're two-time runners-up in the event. Jordan teamed with Ramsuer recently to win the Richmond Golf Association Four-Ball Championship.
- West Virginia swept the four senior singles matches on Sunday. Pat Carter was the leading point earner for West Virginia with 2.5. Jonathan Clark, Bryan Myers, and Phil Zambos collected two points apiece for West Virginia.
QUOTABLE
- "Definitely a confidence booster for me. Happy to have a great partner, my college teammate (at Virginia Tech) Drew Brockwell for those first two matches. We both hit it well. I was able to hit it nicely today, hit into the middle of greens and was able to knock a few putts in. Wasn't too flashy out there today, but it was really tough with the wind and the conditions of the greens. I was just trying to hit it to the fat side of the green, two putt, and get out of there. That won me a couple of holes. I was able to make a few birdies, and that ultimately won me the match." -- Jordan
- "Really good start to the year. Game's trending in the right direction. Hopefully I can find myself on the leaderboards at VSGA majors this year and really contend for a championship." -- Jordan
- "Respect and love to all of those guys. We team up with them when we play North and South Carolina (in the Captain's Putter Matches), so we have a good relationship with those guys. It's always good when they're playing well and we're playing well and it comes down to the wire like this. I wasn't looking at the leaderboard all day. I finished my match, and guys were like, 'great putt, way to finish it up, we really needed that point.' Then I looked at the leaderboard and saw a wall of blue (WV's color on the leaderboard) and was like, 'oh man, we really did need that point.' Great to watch and support the other guys after I was done." -- Jordan
- "This is a very challenging course. Had to play a lot of strategic shots. My game wasn't quite there, but I had a game plan and stuck with it. I was happy with how I played in some tough conditions." -- Gubenko
- "It's incredible. Being part of the Captain's Putter Matches when we made a historic comeback was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I didn't contribute too much to that week, but this week, I motivated myself to put all three points on the board. Team golf is so fun. You don't get a lot of opportunities like this, so I just try to cherish every moment." -- Gubenko
Day 1: Virginia races to early lead
(Drew Brockwell and Joey Jordan won both of their matches on Saturday. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
MARTINSVILLE -- Team Virginia dominated partner play on Saturday at Chatmoss Country Club to take a commanding 9.5-4.5 lead into the second and final day of the 41st Virginia-West Virginia Team Matches.
Three out of four sides of Virginia regulars went undefeated on Saturday, with Drew Brockwell and Joey Jordan, Justin Young and Scott Shingler, and Nikita Gubenko and Adam Houck each winning their four-ball and foursome matches. Sam Beach and Brandon Ramsuer won their afternoon foursome match as well, giving Virginia a 7-1 edge in regular matches.
Virginia, which has never lost to West Virginia on home soil, needs just 4.5 points out of Sunday's 14 singles matches to retain Ye Ole Feudin' Stick and improve to 35-4-2 in the all-time series. West Virginia needs to secure 10 singles points to claim victory.
NOTABLE
- Virginia has dominated foursome (alternate shot) play the last two years, winning 12 of a possible 14 points in the format.
- Along with the aforementioned regular sides, seniors Steve Serrao and Buck Brittain tied their four-ball match and won their foursomes match to earn 1.5 points.
- Pat Carter and Ian Patrick were the only West Virginia side to win more than a point. They rallied late to beat Jeffrey Klatt and Pete Barbera to earn a point in foursomes. They tied their four-ball match in the morning and finished the day with 1.5 points.
QUOTABLE
- "In both matches, we didn't get out of position too often, off the tee or hitting into greens. These greens are so challenging. You can hit decent shots and be off just a little bit and have to hit a really difficult up-and-down or have a tough two putt. We did our best to stay below the hole and not get in those situations. For the most part, we executed that." -- Virginia's Scott Shingler.
- "We were both in play in the morning, so we had good looks on almost every hole. Then in the afternoon, it was fairways and greens. I think we missed one green in regulation, and in alternate shot, that's pretty good." -- Virginia's Justin Young.
- "We joked around about them having to play Benjamin, because when you add our two ages up, it's 100. I'm 53, he's 47. So we got a good laugh out of that." -- Shingler
- "It is a little different. We have that camaraderie, we're teammates in the fall. But, as soon as you put the tee on the ground and the ball on the tee, you're competing, trying to beat the guy in front of you." -- Shingler on playing West Virginia, as Virginia and West Virginia play together against the Carolinas in the season-ending Captain's Putter Matches.
- "The matches here, it's a good starter for the year. It's like the last test. All right, where is my game? For me, it's more that I'm battling against myself to see where I stand heading into the next couple of weeks. So to have some competitive matches against some of your peers, it makes it fun." -- Young
- "(West Virginia) brought a great team, so to see our guys step up, it helps. It certainly could have been much tighter. But still a lot of golf to play." -- Young