Virginia Athletics
Ben James Goes Bogey-Free, UVA Men's Golf Wins Streamsong Invitational
Both the Virginia men's and women's golf teams teed off the fall portion of their 2022-2023 seasons this week and the Cavaliers delivered stellar performances all the way around.
Virginia men's golf wins Streamsong Invitational
The UVA men's golf team competed in the Streamsong Invitational in Bowling Green, Florida on Monday and Tuesday and used a jaw-dropping opening round to build an insurmountable lead and held off a late rally by Lipscomb in the final round to capture the win, Virginia's third tournament victory in the last eleven events.
The Cavaliers set a single-round school record with a 21-under 267 in the first round on Monday. Virginia played its second round on Monday as well, delivering a similarly-impressive 20-under 268. In the final round on Tuesday, Lipscomb put together an extraordinary team round of 33-under 255 to put pressure on UVA, but the Hoos were just good enough at 15-under 273 on the last day to stave off Lipscomb by seven strokes with a final team score of 56-under 808.
Virginia was led by freshman sensation Ben James, who began his collegiate career with a spectacular performance. James, who concluded his junior career as the No. 1-ranked junior golfer in the country, broke the UVA school record for best three-round tournament score with a 20-under 196. James shot 63, 65, and 68 and did not bogey a single hole. His 9-under 63 in the opening round was the second-best single-round score ever recorded by a Cavalier and his 20-under tournament score was just two strokes over the top recorded tournament score in NCAA history.
“I am so proud of Ben and his play this week. He put up scores that we haven’t seen in a long time in our program," said Virginia head coach Bowen Sargent. "His maturity and work ethic bring so much to our team. We can all learn a lot from his preparation and play this week.”
James' UVA teammates were no slouches either. Senior Pietro Bovari, junior George Duangmanee, and sophomore Deven Patel each recorded career-best tournament scores. Bovari shot a 15-under 201 and had 21 birdies, while Duangmanee shot 11-under 205 and Patel shot 10-under 206.
Virginia will play in the Inverness Collegiate in Toledo, Ohio on September 26th and 27th.
UVA women's golf places third at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate
Competing against 11 other major conference golf programs at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, the Virginia women's golf team registered its best-ever finish at the ANNIKA with a third-place 1-under 863 team score.
The Cavaliers were led by sophomore Amanda Sambach, who earned medalist honors with the best overall individual score of 9-under 207. Sambach started the tournament strong with a 7-under 65 in the opening round, tying the UVA program single-round scoring record. She followed that up with a 4-under 68 in the second round and held a six-shot lead over the field heading into the final round. Virginia also led the team leaderboard by six strokes at 567 after the second day.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they were unable to maintain that lead on the final day, as strong final rounds by the runner-up Texas and tournament champion Wake Forest pushed those two squads past Virginia, who finished third at 1-under 863, five strokes behind Wake Forest's 858. UVA's previous best finish at the ANNIKA was 11th place. To finish top three in a 12-team field that featured 11 teams ranked in the top 20 of the preseason coaches poll is certainly a promising start for the Cavaliers.
Amanda Sambach posted a 2-over 74 on Wednesday and took first place with a tournament score of 9-under 207. Sambach is the first Cavalier to win a multi-round tournament since Anna Redding in 2018.
Virginia will play next in the Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate hosted by Tennessee at the Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville on September 19th and 20th.
Follow CavaliersNow on Twitter
Follow CavaliersNow on Facebook
Latest Virginia Cavaliers news and storylines
Four-Star Elijah Gertrude Commits to Virginia Basketball
Virginia Women's Basketball 2022-2023 Schedule Announced
WATCH: OC Des Kitchings Addresses UVA's Offensive Struggles Ahead of ODU
Virginia Men's Soccer Cruises to 5-0 Win Over La Salle
Sophomore Mike Green 'No Longer Active' With Virginia Football Team
Virginia Basketball: 2022-2023 ACC Schedule Released
Virginia Football: Defense Shows Encouraging Signs at Illinois