Liberty University Club Sports
Liberty Flamethrower Championships
Liberty’s top disc golf team comes from behind to win 10th annual Flamethrower Invitational
11/9/2021 1:06:00 PM | Disc Golf
Rallying from seventh place after Saturday's first round of doubles near the Hydaway Outdoor Center, Liberty University's Division I men's disc golf team won its 10th annual Flamethrower Invitational on Sunday to qualify for the College Disc Golf (CDC) National Championships in April in Marion, N.C.
The Flames' top lineup played a phenomenal round of singles on that same 20-hole course Saturday before holding off the top three four-man teams from North Carolina State in Sunday's final round of doubles play on the 20-hole East Campus course to edge the Wolfpack's highest-scoring foursomes by 3, 5, and 6 shots, respectively.
"It was a crazy weekend," Flames Head Coach Steve Bowman said. "They had a tough first round but played amazing in their singles round, where three of the four guys were tied for first place through 19 holes. Our singles scores were great and we were tied for first place as a team at the end of the first day. That was a big jump and we were motivated and excited for the next day."
Liberty's lineup featured a couple new players as Justin Rosak is no longer eligible for CDC competition after reaching a threshold of prize money earned on the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) tour and fellow senior Stephen Curry missed Saturday's action playing in the Blue Ridge Tournament finals, a pro tournament held in nearby New London, Va.
Graduate captain Spencer Ellingson, senior Andrew Sherwood, and juniors Luke Pegram and Tim Schmidt — who won a playoff to determine the men's singles medalist — made up the Flames team that fired a 63-61-62 for a total of 186, ousting NC State's Arctic Wolves (189), Timberwolves (191), and Tundra (192) teams.
"It was good for the younger guys to step up and play well," Bowman said. "They didn't get down after being down after the first round."
Meanwhile, Liberty's fourth card DIII team of junior Evan Olivo, sophomore John Weathersby, graduate Parker Freeman, and freshmen Greyson Lifto and Christian Wilson, a second-day substitute, finished in a three-way tie for sixth out of 15 teams in the tournament with rounds of 62-69-62 for a 193 total.
"The DIII guys played amazing, and beat both of our DII teams," Bowman said. "I was super excited for them. They were on point, leading the doubles round for much of the day on Sunday, and were real close to the DI squad. If they can get their singles scores down, they will be really competitive."
Besides NC State, Virginia Tech earned the third national tournament bid by winning a one-hole playoff with a team from Eastern Mennonite. A total of 70 men and five women competed in the tournament, with five schools represented including Appalachian State, which had already qualified for nationals.
Liberty's women's tandem of junior Julia DiMartino and freshman Audrey Lach placed third out of three women's teams at 74-85-82-241, behind Virginia Tech women's singles champion Rebecca Minnick (83-61-73-217) and a pair from NC State, the Luna Wolves (72-84-76-232).
"The ladies finished nine strokes out of second and it was mostly their first tournament ever, so it was a good learning experience for them," Bowman said. "That was huge. They have a lot that they can build on."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Videos edited by Kylee Ligle and Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
Players Mentioned
