Playoff victory marks school's first state title
November 1, 2016 by Baker Helton in Recap with 0 comments
University of Texas team captain Chris Rodesney knew he had to push or win his match to force a playoff with rival and defending champion Texas A&M at last weekend’s Texas Collegiate Disc Golf Championship in Dripping Springs, Texas. And after hitting a 25-footer on hole 17 to secure a birdie and tie the match, Rodesney still had work to do heading into the final hole at Twin Parks Country Club.
After both Rodesney and his opponent missed hole 18’s island green, the senior knew the importance of the 40-foot death putt that he was about to take.
“I knew I needed to sink it to secure at least the half,” Rodesney said. “So I lined up a jump putt, read the wind, and then I f—ing drilled it.”
That killer instinct sent the match to a playoff, and Texas A&M pushed their drive out-of-bounds on the first hole to leave the door wide open for Texas. Kyle Morgan Jones then stepped up to the box and put his drive within 10 feet to all but secure the win for the Longhorns.
The tight victory – Texas jumped out to an early 10-shot advantage in team play before individual matches tightened the event – marked the Longhorns’ first TCDGC title.
“The win felt pretty good,” Rodesney said. “This year was the fifth edition of this tournament, and I’ve been fortunate enough to play in the first four. I knew going in that this was going to be my last year playing, so that made the win a little more special. We especially enjoyed going up against the A&M team in the final. Texas and Texas A&M are the two premier universities in the state, with a long and storied rivalry. It was fitting for the Texas Collegiate Championship to come down to our two teams.”
In addition to the Longhorns, Texas A&M and third place finisher Texas State secured the other two qualifying spots to the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships. Texas State’s Garrett Glass took home the men’s individual title, while A&M’s Kiralyn Brakel won the women’s side. In the alumni competition, Texas A&M’s Kyle Glaeser was the men’s champion, and Aggies alum Kristen Womac took home the women’s victory.
In other weekend college action, the Heartland Collegiate Championship pitted two teams against each other who had already qualified for the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships. That, however, did not make the competition any less intense, as last year’s NCDGC runner-up, Indian Hills, faced off against Wisconsin Collegiate Tour Opener winner Wisconsin-Platteville.
The event’s first day saw UW-Platteville getting out to a five stroke lead over the host team, but day two was a different story. Led by second team All-American and individual champion Ryan Anderson, Indian Hills came back to secure a 24 stroke victory over UW-Platteville.
The University of Cincinnati also earned a berth to the NCDGC this weekend, after they were the only squad to compete in the Cincinnati Collegiate Championship.
