MCALLEN - Abilene Christian men's golf's run to the South Texas Match Play championship fell short with a 3.5-1.5 loss to UT Rio Grande Valley in Tuesday's final round at McAllen Country Club. The Wildcats rounded out the tournament in second place following a pair of wins on Monday.
Jack Hollingsed wrapped up an undefeated showing at the South Texas Match Play by slipping past the Vaqueros' Taj Sutherland, 1Up. Sutherland captured the lead with a birdie on the first hole and held onto it through No. 10, where Hollingsed kicked off a string of three birdies in a row.
Hollingsed turned Sutherland's 2Up advantage into a 1Up lead of his own, and Sutherland's bogey on hole No. 13 added to Hollingsed's edge. The Dallas native overcame a Sutherand birdie on No. 17 to hold on for a 1Up win.
Colin Leonard remained even with Arthit Kruaprayong through 18 holes despite Kruaprayong grabbing a late lead. Back-to-back birdies offered Kruaprayong a 1Up lead going into the round's final hole, but his bogey tied it up as Leonard shot on par.
Leonard's half point was the last of ACU's scoring as UT Rio Grande Valley claimed the remaining three points.
Jaime Lewis carded five birdies to lead the Wildcats, but Esteban Gonzalez's eagle on hole No. 11 proved monumental as he went on to grab a 1Up victory. Gonzalez took his first lead of the round with a birdie on No. 17.
Preston DeFriend trailed for the entirety of his round with Emilio Gil Leyva but cut a 4Up lead to 1Up thanks to a pair of birdies and a Gil Leyva bogey. DeFriend's bogey on No. 18, though, clinched the point for the Vaqueros.
Grégoire Hoyeau also couldn't build a lead on Luis Limón but trimmed a 3Up deficit to 1Up behind a birdie and a Limón bogey. Limón was quick to restore his lead, though, and captured the round, 3&2.
ACU closed out the tournament with top-two performances on par 3s, par 4s and par 5s. It tied for first on par 3 holes at 3-over and was one of just two squads to shoot under par on par 4s at 3-under.
The Wildcats tied for the second-most eagles with four and the third-most birdies with 50, while their 158 pars led the field. They also registered the fewest bogeys with 28.
Hollingsed and Lewis were tied atop the par 5 leaderboard as they each notched a 6-under effort. Lewis came in fourth on par 4s at 4-under, while Hollingsed followed in a draw for fifth at 3-under.
Leonard and DeFriend were knotted for third on par 3s with 1-under showings. Leonard cracked the top 10 for birdies, tying for seventh with 12 under his belt.
ACU returns to action at the Redhawk Invitational, hosted by Seattle U at Chambers Bay Golf Club in University Place, Wash. on March 31 and April 1.
