Army Secures First Star of the Season

Sunday, October 1

Annapolis, MD

All Day

Army West Point

6.5

4.5

Navy

Army Secures First Star of the Season

October 01, 2017 | Men's Golf

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The first star of this year's Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA, went to the Black Knights with Nick Turner clinching it for the golf team for a 6.5-4.5 victory.

STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE - Head Coach Chad Bagley
"Very happy for our team in earning the Academy's first Star in the first Army/Navy matchup of the 2017-2018 season. Our guys showed tremendous amounts of poise and grit all weekend. We have to give the Navy golf team credit, they played very hard today and they didn't give up when presented the opportunity. We are very grateful to send our captain, Dean Sakata, off with a victory in his last Star Match and he played brilliantly today. He was dominant in his match and gave our team a very crucial point. Can't talk enough about the toughness and character displayed by Nick Turner. He played the last four holes knowing that it all came down to his match. He didn't flinch and birdied two of his last four holes. Nick knew the potential demands of playing in the anchor spot and he gladly accepted the responsibility. We're happy for both him and his family who were present for all 18 holes today.

"This was a memorable victory for our team; and it will give us confidence as we start preparing for Northwestern's tournament this weekend with a very strong field. I would like to thank all of the parents, alumni and supporters who made tremendous efforts to be at our match this weekend! Their presence and support cannot be understated."

HIGHTLIGHTS

Army led 2.5-1.5 after the first day in Annapolis with two wins and an all-square in four-ball.
Turner hit a huge putt on the 14th hole to square the final match and went onto get Army the win.
Gunnar Doyle got Army's first point of the day by winning 2-up against Matt Starobin.
Doyle birdied the final two holes to pull away after being all-square through 16 holes.
Dean Sakata was 3-up at the turn and earned a point by being 4-up with three holes to play.
Matt Plunkett was down one early in his match, but responded on the eighth hole and went from 1-down to 1-up and never relinquished the lead and won 3-and-2.

TEAM SCORES
1. Army: 6.5
2. Navy: 4.5
* Need 6 points to win

SUNDAY SINGLES
Gunnar Doyle def. Matt Starobin, 2-up
Charlie Musto def. James McKee, 1-up
Matt Plunkett def. Ward Wilkinson, 3-and-2
Thomas Garbee def. Justin Williamson, 3-and-2
Dean Sakata def. Paul Mauer, 4-and-3
Griffin Peters def. Max Messner, 5-and-4
Nick Turner def. Thomas Fricke, 2-up

SATURDAY'S FOUR BALL
Doyle and McKee def. Garbee and Wilkinson, 2-and-3
Plunkett and Williamson def. Peters and Hicks, 1-up
Turner and Gerardi halved Stardoin and Musto
Fricke and Mauer def. Sakata and Messner, 4-and-3

UP NEXT
The Black Knights are back on the course next weekend for the The Windon Memorial tournament at Northwestern. The two-day event starts next Sunday, Oct. 8.