HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Bridgewater College men's golf team waited for the rainy, breezy weather to elevate their game during the conclusion of the Kinder-Williams Invitational. After beautiful weather on Monday, the field of eighteen teams faced persistent rain on Tuesday, but the Eagles improved their team score by twelve shots and jumped three spots on the leaderboard, finishing in 5th place.
 
"Yesterday was not what we had in mind going into our home tournament, but the guys definitely came through today, on a day when they could have lost motivation," said head coach John Rogers. "Posting 291 is good for us, and it ended up being the second-best round of the day, among some very good teams."
 
Leading the charge for the Eagles was freshman Walker Gillespie, who left the course after the first round feeling frustrated with a solid 74; today he left annoyed at missing a few short putts near the end of the round, but his 68 was the low round of the day among 96 players, and the second-lowest number of the tournament. Gillespie played a blemish-free round of -4, playing both sides at -2. "I guess you can understand being upset about missing a couple putts when you end up just two shots from the medalist, but from a coach's standpoint, you have got to love a young player who's not afraid to go low, and who feels less than satisfied despite finishing third in his first collegiate event," noted Rogers.
 
Gillespie demonstrated unusual maturity for a collegiate rookie, when he talked about his first experiences at this level. "The first tee definitely feels a little different from high school," said the Giles High standout. "I have learned that keeping your cool and moving forward after a bad shot, or hole, matters a lot. It helps the team in the long run." In this case, Gillespie helped his team leapfrog three teams and break a tie with a fourth.
 
Brandon Washburn had his only blooper of the day on his eleventh hole (after a shotgun start) when he four-putted from the fringe for a double-bogey. But he was -1 before that hole and played the final seven holes at -1 to post 72. His two-day total (75-72 = 147) was good enough to place him in a tie for 10th, which earned him a tournament flag. With senior Max Bondurant currently unable to play, Washburn, as a junior, represents the most experience in the starting lineup for the Eagles.
 
Sophomore Alex Deas had a roler-coaster ride of a tournament this week. He was +4 through six holes, but ended just +7 for the tournament. Despite missing a couple short putts and a miscue on #13 today where he hit his approach over the green and had an unplayable lie, he came in with a 73 on Tuesday, featuring five total birdies, three on his final eight holes. Rogers noted that Deas did a good job battling through the low-points and gave the team a boost while they were trying to jump ahead of their rival teams.
 
Senior Cole Miller, making his first appearance in the starting lineup, provided the fourth score for Bridgewater, a 78 that included birdies on #1 and #11. Miller played steadily and only struggled on #4, a 200-yard par-3 that played almost a stroke over par for the field on Tuesday as they navigated a side-ways wind and steady rain. Miller made double-bogey there.
 
Freshman Will Layton counted for the team on Monday during his first collegiate event, and he posted an 82 during the second round.
 
Rogers pointed out that holes #13-#16 cost the Eagles twelve strokes yesterday, but today they improved by seven shots on that stretch today, accounting for much of the team's progress on Tuesday. In the end, Southern Virginia shot 292-289 (581) to claim the team title, while Dax Anderson from their program won medalist honors with 67-73 (140).
 
The Bridgewater B Team was led today by freshman Christian Carroll who played the Mountain Course at Lakeview at -2 to post 76. Freshman Cai Clark led the C Team for the second straight day, posting 78. All Bridgewater scores are below.
 
A Team
 
Walker Gillespie           68
Brandon Washburn      72
Alex Deas                     73
Cole Miller                     78
Will Layton                    82
 
B Team
 
Christian Carroll            76
Miles Rhoden                79
Andrew Baugher           79
Gage Hull                      79
Ben Hutcheson              80
 
C Team
 
Cai Clark                        78
Collin Rhodes                 81
Nate Winebarger            84
Laurence Jennings         85
Blake Sibert                    89