Disc golfers sharpen focus on CDC Nationals after strong showings at Bluegrass Regionals

Saturday, February 24

Lexington, KY

8:30 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Bluegrass Regional Championship

Graduate Tim Schmidt and his Division I teammates tied for fourth place to clinch three men's team bids to the April 3-6 College Disc Golf National Championships in Rock Hill, S.C.

Disc golfers sharpen focus on CDC Nationals after strong showings at Bluegrass Regionals

2/27/2024 11:04:00 AM | Disc Golf

The Flames earned the third and final men's national qualifying bid at the Lexington, Ky., tournament since runner-up NC State had already qualified.

Liberty University's men's disc golf team qualified its Division I, II, and III men's teams for the April 3-6 College Disc Golf (CDG) National Championships by tying Milligan (Tenn.) University for fourth place out of 37 teams and all three of its women's tandems also earned national bids at Saturday's and Sunday's Bluegrass Regional Championship hosted by the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

"We took three ladies divisions and five guys divisions and we had a wonderful weekend," Head Coach Steve Bowman said. "The ladies competed against Ferris State, from Michigan, and the guys had a huge field with over 20 schools represented."

Lady Flames graduate Julia DiMartino won the women's singles field followed by senior playing partner Maggie Presley, who finished runner-up, and sophomore Bethanne Castiglione in third place. Through three rounds of doubles play, DiMartino and Presley carded a 27-under-par total of 168 to defeat the top Ferris State pair by 39 strokes while Liberty freshmen Bri Bowman and Rachel Whatley finished third, nine strokes back at 216.

Disc-Golfer-Kyle-Sennett — Sophomore Kyle Sennett played on Liberty's Sparky squad that took 11th place.

In the men's competition, Liberty's Red team of senior Clayton Lewis, graduate Timothy Schmidt, sophomore Jonah Burdick, and sophomore Evan Riley shot a 22-under 174 through three rounds of doubles to tie for fourth, just six strokes back of overall champion UNC Charlotte A (28-under 168). North Carolina State's A team finished runner-up at 27-under 169, followed by UNC Charlotte's B team (25-under 171).

Liberty's Sparky squad, made up of senior Ben Binkley, junior Paul Caracappa, sophomore Kyle Sennett, and senior Graham Clawson carded a 15-under 181 total to take 11th, followed closely by its White team of graduates Andrew Sherwood and Grayson Fortin, a student in the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM), and juniors Greyson Lifto and John Weathersby (14-under 182).

The Flames' Blue team of graduate Noah Bailey and seniors Sam Vilcek, Elijah Persson, and Ian Rankin tied Appalachian State's A team for 15th place at 11-under 185.

Complete results are available online.

Bowman may shuffle his lineups for the March 16-17 Flamethrower National Qualifier at the New London Tech and Ivy Hill Golf Club courses, the same that will be used by the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championships from Aug. 21-25. Liberty has already received confirmation from 32 teams representing 15 colleges and universities that will be attending the annual Flamethrower event, with three Division I and six Division II men's bids on the line to qualify for the CDG national tournament hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.