WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- After first two rounds at the NCAA D3 Fall Preview, the Christopher Newport men's golf team is sitting in 11th place with an eight-over 576. In the second round, the Captains etched another round into the CNU record book, firing a five-under 279 to mark one of the single lowest rounds in program history.
The second-round performance shaves four entire strokes off the previous Par 71 record established in the 2021-22 season when the Captains recorded a 283 in the Savannah Invitational. Only four times prior to Monday's round have the Captains fired a sub-280 round and all four came on the Par 70 track in North Carolina in the Camp Lejeune Intercollegiate. The 279 ranks fourth best all-time for total score and the five-under is tied for the third lowest single round score relative to par.
Each of the CNU starting five contributed to the dominant performance on the River Course at the Kingsmill Resort, home of the 2027 NCAA Division III National Championship. The Captains were led by a three-under 68 from
Patrick O'Rourke and a two-under 69 by
Jacob Foti.
Jimmy Spallone and
Fischer Leggitt were each at Even par with matching 71's.
Christian Martin was the drop score, despite an impressive four-over 75 that included his first collegiate eagle on the 525-yard par five 7th hole.
After 36 holes, O'Rourke (-1) leads all CNU players and is tied for 25th. He fired a 141 (73-68) on the first day and is positioned to make a move as he trails top ten by just four strokes heading into the third and final round on Tuesday.
Both Spallone (+2) and Foti (+2) are tied for 44th after the first day. Spallone shot a 144 (73-71) and Foti shaved six strokes off his first round with a 144 (75-69). Leggitt is tied for 59th at 147 (76-71) and Martin tied for 76th with a 152 (77-75).
Foti and Spallone each led the way in the first round with four birdies while O'Rourke dropped in three. Martin had two while Leggitt paired one birdie with 12 pars. In the second round, putts were dropping all over the place including three straight birdies for Leggitt on the front nine while adding another on the 175-yard par three 13th. Spallone and O'Rourke each dropped in five birdies while Foti added four. Martin notched two birdies to go with his aforementioned eagle.
The Huntingdon Hawks (-25) lead the championship preview field by eight strokes after 36 holes. Kenyon (-17), Illinois Wesleyan (-12), Emory (-11), and Carnegie Mellon (-6) rounded out the top five. There is a four-way tie at the top of the individual leaderboard at eight-under par.
The teams will return to the course on Tuesday to wrap up the 54-hole event. Live scoring is available at CNUsports.com.
