Palm Desert, Calif. (Feb. 11, 2022) -- The Wyoming men's golf team came out of the gates fast on Friday in its first competition of the 2022 spring season. The Cowboys won both of their matches on the opening day of the inaugural Wyoming Desert Match Play. UW entered the match-play event as the #5 seed in the eight-team field and defeated #4 seed Denver in the quarterfinals on Friday morning. Wyoming then defeated #1 seed San Francisco in the semifinals on Friday afternoon. USF concluded the 2021 fall season ranked No. 29 in the nation by Golfstat and are currently ranked No. 41. The Cowboys will face #2 seed Boise State in Saturday's championship match.
In Wyoming's opening round match, the Cowboys and Denver were tied 3-3-0 at the conclusion of the six individual matches, but Wyoming won the tiebreaker on the basis of winning more total holes versus the Pioneers.
In the win over DU, Wyoming's
Jimmy Dales won his match 7&6. The other two Cowboys to win their individual matches vs. Denver were
Bryce Waters (3&2) and
Patrick Azevedo (2&1).
On Friday afternoon in the semifinals versus #1 seed San Francisco, the Pokes captured a 4-2-0 victory. Azevedo won his second consecutive match of the day with a 2&1 win over his competitor from USF. The other three Cowboy wins were by three different individuals than in the morning round.
Tyler Severin won 1UP.
Kirby Coe-Kirkham won 3&2, and
Cade McLaughlin scored a 2&1 victory.
For the day, each of Wyoming's six individuals scored at least one match-play win, while Azevedo went a perfect 2-0 in his individual matches.
"I'm really proud of the way the guys competed today," said
Joe Jensen, UW Director of Golf and Head Men's Golf Coach. "We had a really good week of training leading up to this tournament, and our team continued that momentum into today's matches. We played seven qualifying rounds earlier this week, and everyone on the team had an equal opportunity to earn a spot in our six-man lineup. I think that motivated our players to play their best.
"I wanted to start this new match-play event to enable our guys to get some good competition in while doing it in a team setting like this. I think today is a good confidence builder for us as we enter the spring season. We were able to come away with two good wins against two good teams in Denver and San Francisco. I know our team is looking forward to playing against another good program in Boise State tomorrow."
The Wyoming Desert Match Play is being played on the Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif. The course measures 7,305 yards.
First-day results and Saturday's schedule of events follow.
Quarterfinal Results
#1 Seed San Francisco defeated #8 Seed Air Force, 5-1-0
# 5 Seed Wyoming defeated #4 Seed Denver, the match was tied 3-3-0 but Wyoming won the tiebreaker by winning more total holes than DU
#2 Seed Boise State defeated #7 Seed Wichita State, 4-2-0
#6 Seed UTEP defeated #3 Seed Colorado, 4-1-1
Semifinal Results
Championship Bracket
#5 Seed Wyoming won 4-2-0 over #1 Seed San Francisco
#2 Seed Boise State won 4-1-1 over #6 UTEP
Consolation Bracket
#3 Seed Colorado won 3-2-1 over #7 Seed Wichita State
#4 Seed Denver won 5-0-1 over #8 Seed Air Force
Saturday's Final Round Schedule
Seventh-Place Match: #7 Seed Wichita State vs. #8 Seed Air Force, Tees off starting at 7 a.m., Pacific Time (8 a.m., M.T.)
Fifth-Place Match: #3 Seed Colorado vs. #4 Seed Denver, Tees off starting at 7:24 a.m., P.T.
Third-Place Match: #1 Seed San Francisco vs. #6 Seed UTEP, Tees off starting at 7:48 a.m., P.T.
Championship Match: #2 Seed Boise State vs. #5 Seed Wyoming, Tees off starting at 8:12, P.T.
