Men’s Golf Downs Indiana, Iowa to Finish Big Ten Match Play Championship

Saturday, February 9

Palm Coast, FL

Rutgers University

Big Ten Match Play Championships

Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

Men’s Golf Downs Indiana, Iowa to Finish Big Ten Match Play Championship

Feb 09 | Men's Golf

Round Three Results Round Four Results

Scarlet Knights sweep during Saturday action in Palm Coast, Florida

PALM COAST, Fla. – Rutgers men's golf closed out the Big Ten Match Play Championship with a statement, as it earned wins over No. 3-seeded Iowa and No. 9-seeded Indiana on Saturday at the Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida.

Sophomores Bobby Weise and Oliver Whatley each produced two individual wins to help the Scarlet Knights during Saturday play. Sophomore Christopher Gotterup and rookie Shayler Dance contributed wins against the Hawkeyes, while junior Tony Jiang and sophomore Putt Sridama added victories against the Hoosiers.

Rutgers, who finished 10^th in the 14-team field, downed Iowa and Indiana by identical 4-2 scores despite competing in windy conditions on the Conservatory Course. Ohio State, who RU faced in the opening round, secured the team title. Iowa entered the tournament No. 50 in the latest team rankings from Golfstat, while Indiana was No. 80.

"I'm proud of the way the guys responded today after nearly defeating Ohio State on Friday, who went on to win the whole thing," said head coach Rob Shutte. "To come out and fight to get huge wins over No. 3 seed Iowa and a talented Indiana team shows the type of talent we have in this program. I could not be prouder to how they responded to adversity this afternoon."

As a team, Rutgers finished first with nine eagles through the four rounds and was tied for fourth with 50 birdies. Individually, Gotterup co-led the field with three eagles, while Dance and Weise each had two. Jiang led the squad with 13 birdies, tied for second in the field.

In the third-round matchup against Iowa, Gotterup and Weise each carded 3&2 results against their respective opponents, while Dance and Whatley earned 1 up results. Against Indiana, Weise produced a 4&3 result, Jiang and Sridama won 3&2 and Whatley added another 1 up final tally.

Rutgers will have a bit of a break before its next event from March 4-5 at the Colleton River Collegiate in Bluffton, South Carolina.

Day Two Results
Third Round: No. 13 Rutgers 4, No. 3 Iowa 2
5&4 Alex Schaake (IOWA) over Tony Jiang (RU)
1 up Oliver Whatley (RU) over Gonzalo Leal (IOWA)
3&2 Bobby Weise (RU) over Aaron DeNucci (IOWA)
1 up Shayler Dance (RU over Matthew Walker (IOWA)
3&2 Chris Gotterup (RU) over Benton Weinberg (IOWA)
5&4 Jake Rowe (IOWA) over Jack Doherty (RU)

Fourth Round: No. 13 Rutgers 4, No. 9 Indiana 2
1 up Ethan Shepherd (IU) over Chris Gotterup (RU)
3&2 Tony Jiang (RU) over Brock Ochsenreiter (IU)
4&3 Bobby Weise (RU) over Harry Reynolds (IU)
1 up Oliver Whatley (RU) over Mitch Davis (IU)
5&4 Evan Gaesser (IU) over Shayler Dance (RU)
3&2 Putt Sridama (RU) over Evan Yakubov (IU)

Team Standings
1. Ohio State
2. Maryland
3. Illinois
4. Nebraska
5. Purdue
6. Wisconsin
7. Michigan State
8. Northwestern
9. Michigan
10. RUTGERS
11. Indiana
12. Iowa
13. Minnesota
14. Penn State

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