Western New Mexico University Leads Men’s DII Division;
Final Round Wednesday at The Park
By CRAIG DOLCH
Special to PGA of America
Editors: For photos, click here.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Playing in the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship Presented by Chase and Kohler can be a life-altering event. Just ask Alexis Faieta.
She was playing in Tuesday’s second round at The Park when she heard something unexpected.
“Hey, I saw you on SportsCenter last night.”
Wait, what?
Faieta was on SportsCenter as part of the ESPN staple show’s Top 10 of the Day. It was video of her holing out a 94-yard shot from the sand for eagle on the 14th hole during Monday’s first round.
She had seen a replay of her hole-out on Golf Channel, but it was news she had her SportsCenter moment.
“That’s really cool,” said Faieta, a University of North Carolina Wilmington freshman. “I’m looking forward to watching that. I was really excited (when the ball went in the hole). But I couldn’t let the moment get too big, so I was just focusing on the next shot, no matter what happens.”
Faieta was unable to replicate the magic Tuesday that fueled her 4-under 67 Monday, but a 78 gave her a three-shot lead over Anushka Sawant (73) of University of Delaware in the Women’s Individual Division. Faieta said she’s using a perspective she learned from Olympic gold medal figure skater Alysa Liu.
“She said that no matter what, there’s nothing to lose, because you play good, you play bad, you’re still learning from something,” Faieta said. “I’m just excited to have the opportunity to be in contention going into tomorrow, and no matter what happens, I’ll learn something.”
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (39-over) leads the Women’s Team Championship by 18 shots, shooting 13-over Tuesday. Texas Southern (58-over) needs a big rally.
“We’ve been in some places this year where our first round was never the greatest and they just put their heads down and play through it,” said Texas A&M Corpus Christi Coach Chris Adams. “We talk about winning the day. I was proud of the way they stepped up.”
Sanaa Carter (76) of North Carolina Central University finished with a triple bogey, but clung to a one-shot lead at 7-over 149 in the Women’s Team Division Medalist race. Tied for second are Thaiz Amezcua (76) of Texas Southern, Kierra Williams (73) of Alabama State University and Samantha Gibbs (72) of Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Florida A&M University is poised to win its third Division I Men’s Team Championship at 1-under, leading North Carolina A&T University by 13 shots. The Rattlers almost doubled their lead from seven after the weather-delayed first round, led by overall leader Sascha Robinson (69-136). Prairie View A&M (19-over) sits in third.
“I’m so proud of this team because they just continue to fight and battle,” said Florida A&M Coach Mike Rice. “We all know what Sascha can do. We were disappointed we didn’t win the conference title last week, but I told the guys this is a new week and this is an amazing event. It would be great to win this for the third time.”
The 6-foot-6 Robinson stands out on a golf course just by walking on it. He started with four early birdies Monday to reach the top of the leaderboard, added four more to his card today and stretched his lead to four over Quade Woods (70) of Alabama State University.
“It hasn’t been the year I wanted it to be, so it would mean a lot to win,” Robinson said. “I didn’t have my best stuff today, but I just kept fighting.”
Western New Mexico University leads Morehouse College by five shots at 30-over in the Men’s Division II team competition. Kentucky State (45-over) is in third.
“Obviously, it brings a little bit of a different expectation or pressure,” said Western New Mexico coach Harry O’Callahan. “But they’re right where they should be, where they deserve to be. There’s no reason they can’t get it done.”
Jacob Alcorta of Western New Mexico University shot even-par 71 to stretch his lead to six shots in the Men’s Division II Medalist battle. He played his last 13 holes in 2-under despite the wind picking up later in the day.
“It was a survival-mode kind of day,” Alcorta said. “Just try to hit the center of the green and make a bunch of pars.”
Nashaun Tyson of Florida Atlantic University shot his second consecutive 68 to lead the Men’s Individual competition by three shots over Arsit Areephun (71) of University of Delaware.
Tyson, who won the Palm Beach County Amateur at The Park last year, had three birdies on his last four holes to take the lead.
“Winning on this course gives me a little advantage,” Tyson said. “It was a little tough out there with the wind, but I got some putts to drop at the end.”
Andreas Roman of University of Maryland Eastern Shore made a hole-in-one on the 168-yard seventh hole with a 50-degree sand wedge. It was his 12th ace.
“It’s very common for me to hit the pin, and today, it just happened to go in so I’m really happy,” Roman said after a 74. “It’s a special hole.”
The PWCC’s final round Wednesday will be televised on Golf Channel from 4-7 p.m.
About PGA WORKS
PGA WORKS is a strategic initiative designed to broaden the golf industry’s workforce and beyond. Funded by the PGA of America REACH Foundation, the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America, PGA WORKS leverages fellowships, scholarships, career exploration events and the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship to inspire and engage talent from all backgrounds to pursue key employment positions across the golf industry. For more information, visit PGAREACH.org/PGAWORKS, follow @PGAWORKS on X, formerly known as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
About PGA of America REACH Foundation
The PGA of America REACH Foundation is the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America. The mission of the Foundation is to positively impact the lives of youth, military and underserved communities by enabling access to PGA of America Golf Professionals, PGA Sections and the game of golf. For more information on the PGA of America REACH Foundation, visit PGAREACH.org, follow @PGAREACH on Instagram, X and find us on Facebook.
Media Contacts:
Jesse Dodson, PGA – PGA of America, jdodson@pgahq.com
Jared Minski – Mastro Communications, jared@mastrocomm.com
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