April 21, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team closed out the spring schedule by finishing second at the BIG EAST Championship Sunday afternoon at the Warren Golf Course. The Irish fired a final-round 296 to overtake St. John’s for second place with a 54-hole total of 882 (297-289-296). Virginia Tech won its second consecutive BIG EAST title by 17 strokes over the Irish with an 865 total (290-287-288).
Rounding out the six-team field was St. John’s in third with an 886 (288-296-302), Georgetown was fourth with an 898 (296-298-304), Seton Hall fifth with a 926 (307-295-324) and Connecticut with a 929 (311-302-316).
Virginia Tech placed five golfers among the top 10 finishers and was led by senior Johnson Wagner who shot the tourney’s only subpar round with a two-under par 68 in Sunday’s cold and rainy conditions. Wagner finished with a one-over par total of 211 (70-73-68) and started the final round two strokes behind second-round leader Andrew Svoboda of St. John’s.
Svoboda fired a final round 74 to finish tied for second with Notre Dame’s Steve Ratay (Sr., Arlington Heights, Ill.) as both golfers turned in a five-over par 215. Both golfers came into the tournament as the defending champion as they, along with Virginia Tech’s Brian Krusoe tied for the title in 2001.
Svoboda finished the first 36 holes with a one-over par 141 after rounds of 70 and 71. Ratay fired a final round 72 to move from fourth to second on the final day after opening with a 72-71-143. Rounding out the top five were Georgetown’s Nick Cook (71-71-75) and Virginia Tech’s Chris McKeel (73-71-73) who finished six strokes behind Wagner at 217.
Notre Dame’s Ryan Marshall (Fr., Marco Island, Fla.) had the best finish of his career as he finished sixth, seven strokes behind Wagner, with a 218 total following rounds of 73, 72 and 73. Marshall along with Ratay and the top seven finishers in the tournament were named to the 2002 All-BIG EAST team.
The Irish finished with five golfers in the top 20. Following Marshall was sophomore Bill McCaughan (Key Biscayne, Fla.) who tied for tenth in his first tournament as one of the team’s scoring-five. McCaughan had a 13-over par 223 (76-73-74) for his BIG EAST debut.
Senior Chris Whitten (Rockford, Mich.) tied for 18th in his first BIG EAST Tournament with a 19-over par 219 (76-75-78) while freshman Steve Colnitis (Baldwin, Md.) finished 20th with a 230 total. Colnitis opened with a first-round 80 but bounced back with a 73 and 77 in his final two rounds.
Notre Dame’s second-place finish was its best of the season and marked the second time that the Irish have finished second at the BIG EAST Championship (in 1998 the Irish tied St. John’s for second). Notre Dame has won the tournament three times (1995, 1996, 1997) and will again host the tournament in April of 2003.
Team Standings 1. Virginia Tech 290-287-288-865
2. Notre Dame 297-289-296-882
3. St. John’s 288-296-302-886
4. Georgetown 296-298-304-898
5. Seton Hall 307-295-324-926
6. Connecticut 311-302-316-929
2002 ALL-BIG EAST Team
1. Johnson Wagner, Virginia Tech 70-73-68-211 +1
t2. Steve Ratay, Notre Dame 72-71-72-215 +5
Andrew Svoboda, St. John’s 71-70-74-215 +5
t4. Nick Cook, Georgetown 71-71-75-217 +7
Chris McKeel, Virginia Tech 73-71-73-217 +7
6. Ryan Marshall, Notre Dame 73-72-73-218 +8
t7. Brendon De Jonge, Virginia Tech 75-73-72-220 +10
Jesse Fitzgerald, St. John’s 74-71-75-220 +10
Coach of the Year
Jay Hardwick, Virginia Tech
FINAL RESULTS
Big East Championship
Warren Golf Course Notre Dame, IN
Par: 70
Yardage: 6744
Fin. Name School Scores
1 Johnson Wagner Va. Tech 70 73 68 211 +1
2 Steve Ratay Notre Dame 72 71 72 215 +5
Andrew Svoboda St John’s 71 70 74 215 +5
4 Nick Cook Georgetown 71 71 75 217 +7
Chris McKeel Va. Tech 73 71 73 217 +7
6 Ryan Marshall Notre Dame 73 72 73 218 +8
7 Brendon De Jonge Va. Tech 75 73 72 220 +10
Jesse Fitzgerald St John’s 74 71 75 220 +10
9 Brian Krusoe Va. Tech 72 75 75 222 +12
10 William McCaughan Notre Dame 76 73 74 223 +13
Ryan Stinnett Va. Tech 75 70 78 223 +13
12 Justin Van Hyning Seton Hall 72 70 84 226 +16
James Farrah Georgetown 75 73 78 226 +16
14 Sean Vigue U of Conn. 79 73 75 227 +17
Justin Ciombor U of Conn. 73 76 78 227 +17
Dennis Bosworth Seton Hall 75 75 77 227 +17
Joe Saladino St John’s 70 79 78 227 +17
18 Chris Whitten Notre Dame 76 75 78 229 +19
John DeForest St John’s 73 79 77 229 +19
20 Steve Colnitis Notre Dame 80 73 77 230 +20
21 Tristan Lewis Georgetown 79 79 73 231 +21
Cody Courbier Georgetown 73 76 82 231 +21
23 Mike Murphy U of Conn. 79 76 77 232 +22
24 Bob Molina Georgetown 77 78 78 233 +23
25 Kyle Sleasman St John’s 83 76 76 235 +25
26 Jay Allaghi Seton Hall 77 77 84 238 +28
27 Brian McGowan Seton Hall 83 76 80 239 +29
28 Andrew Revue Seton Hall 87 74 83 244 +34
29 Kevin Coghlan U of Conn. 80 77 88 245 +35
30 Kevin O’Connor U of Conn. 81 79 86 246 +36