The Richmond Spiders men’s golf team finished in fourth place at the inaugural Giles-Spratley Collegiate, held Tuesday, April 7 at Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Virginia. The event featured a field of 16 teams, with Richmond trailing only Liberty University, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Charleston—all ranked among the top 80 Division I programs.
This result marks the Spiders’ fourth top-five finish in five events this spring. Head coach Adam Decker said, “This was a really strong mid-major field. For us, it’s great prep going into our conference championship. That was a good, competitive last round we played. I think it’s all positive and really good preparation for what’s to come.”
Junior Quin Polin led Richmond by shooting a final-round score of four-under-par 68 to finish tied for sixth overall at six-under-par (210). It was Polin’s fourth top-10 finish of the season and seventh in his career. “It was a very nice experience coming out here and seeing all the supporters of Richmond golf and seeing the flags hanging for the Spiders on people’s houses and whatnot,” Polin said. “It was a lot of fun playing here at home.” Junior Jack LaPiana also secured a top-10 spot by tying for ninth place with four-under-par (212), his second such result this season.
“It was a blast,” LaPiana said about competing on their home course with significant support from alumni, family, and friends.
Sophomore Carson Baez tied for 27th place after finishing one-over-par (217), while junior Parker Moellinger tied for 42nd at three-over-par (219). Freshman Lucas Rizo-Patron moved up significantly on the leaderboard during Tuesday’s final round to tie for 45th at four-over-par (220).
Three additional Spiders competed as individuals: senior Drew Carlin tied for 65th; sophomores Tommy Sharps and Tyler Lee both tied for 82nd place.
Richmond excelled on par-5 holes throughout the tournament, playing them collectively in twenty-nine under par—the second-best performance among all teams participating.
Looking ahead, Richmond will compete next in the Atlantic 10 Championship from April 27–29 at Evermore Resort in Orlando, Florida. Decker said: “For us now the focus becomes Florida. They all realize there’s a lot of work to be done. We’ve got a couple weeks here before we head down there to prepare and I think they’re up for the challenge.”
