Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Navy
Army Controls Day One, Wins All Four Matches Against Navy
September 27, 2014 | Men's Golf
WEST POINT, N.Y. -After day one of the Army Navy golf Star Match, Army holds a strong 4-0 lead after winning all four-ball matches Saturday under blue skies at the West Point Golf Course. The Black Knights go into Sunday’s singles round needing only two of seven points to claim their third-straight star.
“Today was phenomenal,” said head coach Brian Watts. “For the guys to go out and compete as hard as they did and come away with four points is a big deal, a big lead in Ryder Cup format. Tomorrow we aren’t going to change anything in regards to a game plan, we are just going to go out and try to hit fairways and greens. Everyone has their own way to get around our golf course so I’m going to step aside and let the guys play and hopefully come away with a win.”
Army led the first three matches on the front nine and was even in match four. The Black Knights secured their leads on the back nine of the course.
Marcus Plunkett and Eric Peng were first off the tee. The duo was the first to secure an Army point when Peng chipped in for birdie on the 13th hole. Plunkett remains unbeaten in Star Match competition. In match two Robby Hill and Joe Kozlak defeated Tallman and Tu of Navy. Hill and Kozlak made par to claim another point for the Black Knights at the 14th hole.
The third match was not decided until the 18th hole when plebes Willis Huynh and Dean Sakata were up one and shot for par to secure another team point. Match four was decided at the 17th hole when Justin Pagila and Peter Kim defeated Fricke and Keene 2-and-1.
“I think Plunkett and Peng getting off to a five up through the first five holes set the tone early,” said Watts. “Having Hill and Kozlak, our team captain and the hockey team captain, going three up early with the entire hockey team supporting them and following them hole to hole and hearing the roars across the golf course early on helped the rest of the team. It was an incredible time out here today. I’ve never witnessed it at the collegiate level where you could hear the roars going across the golf course. That was a great experience for the cadets.”
Army earned a 7.5-3.5 victory against Navy last season. The Black Knights have not claimed the star three years in a row since 1993-95.
The first tee-time Sunday will be at 8:30 a.m.
Four-Ball Results (Army 4, Navy 0)
Marcus Plunkett/Eric Peng (Army) def. Devin Terry/Ben Allen (Navy) 6-and-5.
Robby Hill/Joe Kozlak (Army) def. Connor Tallman/Lawrence (Navy) Tu 5-and-4.
Dean Sakata/Willis Huynh (Army) def. August Jonas/David Won (Navy) 2-and-1
Peter Kim/Justin Pagila (Army) def. Thomas Fricke/Bryce Keene (Navy) up one.
Players Mentioned
