SAINT HELENA ISLAND, S.C. – The Towson University men's golf team moved up two more spots to wrap up the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship in seventh place after shaving nine strokes off of yesterday's score, earning a 286 (-2). The Tigers' improvement was backed by four of the five Tigers shooting 73 or lower. The Black & Gold were also one of four teams to shoot under par for the final round of the tournament.
College of Charleston took the lead from Elon to claim the championship title, shooting 272 (-16) for the final day. Elon and UNCW rounded out the podium in second and third place, respectively. Zach Reuland and Kieron Van Wyk of Charleston were tabbed the co-champions after tying the 54-hole tournament record of 13-under.
Sky Aung carded a collegiate career-low 68 (-4) for his final round, moving up 13 spots from yesterday to finish tied for 27th. The freshman started off slow, bogeying his first hole of the day, but managed to bounce back with two birdies and six pars to put him at 1-under at the halfway mark. During his back nine, Aung fired an eagle on a par 5, 489-yard hole before birdieing the following hole. He wrapped up play with one more birdie to put him at 4-under for the round.
Tied for 27
th with Aung was
Michael Matheson, who shot an even-par 72 for his final and best round of the tournament. The freshman tallied four birdies, two of which were back-to-back during his front nine. Going into his back nine, Matheson was 1-under par but back-to-back birdies put him at 1-over. He managed to get down to even par after birdieing his second to last hole of the round.
Ariihau Faana finished his first conference championship after scoring 73 (+1) for his final round. Like Matheson, the freshman notched four birdies, two of which were back-to-back during his first nine holes. Faana had the fifth-highest amount of birdies, tallying 13 total.
Brad Riley finished his final collegiate tournament for the Tigers after shooting 79(+7), parring 13 of 18 holes. Riley had the fifth most amount of pars earned, capturing 36 across 54 holes. After this event, the fifth year has competed in 113 rounds of golf while representing the Black & Gold which is the fourth-highest amount in Towson history. He leaves the program ranking seventh on the all-time scoring list.
"He's been everything you want as a coach," Larkin added when asked about Riley's career with Towson. "He's a guy who did everything the right way. He's one of the best and like I said – a coach's dream, just did everything the right way and is everything you would want out of a student-athlete."
Joshua Galindo rounded out the squad after wrapping up with a 73 (+1), his best score out of all three rounds and an 11 stroke improvement from his results on the first day. He rolled in four birdies total, two per nine.
"I was really impressed with the guys today," head coach
Mike Larkin commented. "We were one of four teams under par today along with the three teams atop of the league – Charleston, Elon and UNCW. Counting four freshman's scores, I think that's pretty impressive for us and shows that we're in a good spot to build on going forward."
Final Results
