Liberty University Club Sports
North Carolina State University
Disc golfers gear up for Flamethrower with runner-up showings at NC State
2/14/2023 8:58:12 PM | Disc Golf
Liberty University’s men’s and women’s disc golf teams finished runner-up to host North Carolina State in the Wolfpack Cross Country Classic VII played Saturday and Sunday on two new 20-hole layouts at Diavolo Disc Golf Course in Cary, N.C., where the players braved the elements in a wintry mix for Sunday's final round.
“It was pretty brutal, probably one of the worst weather days we’ve had to play through in a while,” Liberty Head Coach Steve Bowman said. “It was crazy. It was cold, nasty and miserable, but we competed really well. It wasn’t pretty, wasn’t fun, but the guys weren’t fazed too much.”
The 17 Flames and two Lady Flames competed in one round of singles and one round of doubles on Saturday and a second round of doubles on Sunday against players from Appalachian State, Clemson, Eastern Mennonite, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro, Virginia Tech, and Western Carolina.
“We were drenched, even using umbrellas with the wind, and the course did not drain well when we were getting a half-inch of rain an hour,” Bowman said. “It was muddy and slick on the tee-pads. Players were barely able to step over the bridges because streams and creeks were overflowing their banks, and areas marked out of bounds were way in the water.”
Junior Triston Lambert was the Flames’ best finisher in singles, tying for seventh at 10-under-par, three strokes out of first place. Senior Clayton Lewis finished at 5-under par, in a 10-way tie for 14th, and graduate Spencer Ellingson came in at 3-under par, in 34th place out of 96 players.
“Saturday was super nice, weather-wise, and we were able to play pretty well,” Bowman said. “In our singles round, we didn’t get off the tee well and that really limited our players as to where they were at on the course. In doubles, we missed a lot of makeable shots, that bit us pretty hard and we couldn’t catch up.”
In men’s doubles play, Liberty’s quartet of Lambert, Lewis, Ellingson, and senior Tim Schmidt split into two-man teams to finish eight shots back of the Wolfpack with a combined total of 22-under par. The Flames’ foursome of freshman Jonah Burdick, graduate Andrew Sherwood, freshman Evan Riley, and sophomore Greyson Lifto finished 10th at 10-under followed closely by the group of sophomores John Weathersby and Tyler Staub, Luke Pegram, and junior Logan Wise (11th, 7-under). In 17th place, Liberty’s team of senior Evan Olivo, sophomore Christian Wilson, and freshmen Johnny Bennett and Ryan Morgan came in at 3-under, followed by the 18th-place tandem of seniors Noah Bailey and Sam Vilcek, Paul Caracappa, and sophomore Kaden McInerney at 2-under.
Senior Julia DiMartino finished at plus-16 and sophomore Maggie Presley plus-17 in women’s singles action. In doubles play, DiMartino and Presley combined for a 23-over par total that left them in second place, seven throws behind a combined NC State and UNC Chapel Hill tandem. The Lady Flames actually shot four strokes better on Sunday despite the weather conditions.
“Our ladies played really well,” Bowman said. “On the first day, they were nervous more than anything.”
Liberty will host its annual Flamethrower National Qualifier on March 4-5, with the men’s Division I and II brackets being played at Ivy Hill Golf Course on Saturday and New London Tech Center on Sunday. Those two professional courses designed by Paul McBeth with input from PDGA board member Nate Heinold and Bowman, will also be the host sites for the Disc Golf World Championships in August or September 2024.
“Most world events are played on a golf course so they can stretch out the distance,” Bowman said. “The upper divisions (of professional disc golf) are moving away from tight wooded courses to others like New London and Ivy. This is only going to help us at the (CDG National Championships set for April 5-8 in Marion, N.C.) These courses are definitely longer than those, and harder than competing at nationals a month later.”
The Flamethrower event has reach full capacity, with a total of 82 players registered representing 12 programs, including Liberty, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Eastern Mennonite, Houghton (N.Y.), Kentucky, Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Ohio), NC State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and UNC Chapel Hill.
Meanwhile, the men’s DIII and women’s divisions, with players from Liberty, NC State, and EMU, will be held at New London on Saturday and Falling Creek in Bedford on Sunday.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
