Flames Conclude Regular Season at Stitch Intercollegiate
4/11/2019 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
No. 20 Liberty will wrap up its regular season schedule this weekend when the Flames participate in the 2019 Stitch Intercollegiate.
The two-day, 54-hole event is hosted by NC State at the MacGregor Downs Country Club (par 72, 6,973 yards) in Cary, N.C.
Following this weekend's event, the Flames will have all next week to prepare for their first-ever appearance at the ASUN Men's Golf Championship (April 21-23 – Chateau Elan Golf Club in Braselton, Ga.)
Now on The Tee – Liberty's Starting Five (Season Stroke Average):
• Ervin Chang (70.67)
• Gabe Lench (71.15)
• Kieran Vincent (72.48)
• Jonathan Yaun (73.74)
• Alexandre Fuchs (73.19)
• Individual: Zach Barbin (74.40)
Tournament Reflections – Liberty's Last Showing at the Stitch Championship:
• The Stitch Intercollegiate is a new event on Liberty's men's golf schedule.
• The last time the Flames added a new event to their schedule was Duck Invitational during the 2017-18 season (March 26-27, 2018).
• No. 56 Liberty and No. 30 Oregon shared the title at the 2018 Duck Invitational, with both teams carding a winning score of 13-over par 865 on the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.
From the 18th Green – Recapping Liberty's Last Time Out:
• Following a three-way layoff, Liberty returned to the golf course, last weekend, when the Flames participated in the 2019 Mason Rudolph Championship.
• The Flames finished the event in second place, carding a 12-under par 840 (280-278-282) on the Vanderbilt Legends Club (par 71, 7,100 yards) in Franklin, Tenn.
• Tournament host and No. 4 ranked Vanderbilt won the event with a 29-under par 823 (284-269-270), taking home the trophy in its own event for the second year in a row and the sixth time since the event started in 2001.
• Liberty' Ervin Chang paced the Flames, finishing tied for fifth place with a 7-under par (72-64-70).
• Following the fifth-place showing, Chang was named this week's ASUN Men's Golfer of the Week, his third weekly honor this season from the conference.
• Gabe Lench, the lone senior in Liberty's starting line, finished one shot behind Chang, sharing eighth place after carding a 6-under par 207 (67-69-71).
Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes:
• For the third week in a row, Liberty has been ranked No. 20 in the latest Golfstat national ranking, its second highest ranking in program history.
• Following the runner-up finish at the Linger Longer Invitational (March 15-17), Liberty's national ranking climbed to an all-time program high of No. 18 on March 20.
• The Flames have two individual golfers who currently rank inside the top-75 in the country: Ervin Chang (No. 28) and Gabe Lench (No. 58).
• After winning five of the last eight Big South titles (2011, 2012, 2014, 216 and 2018), the Flames will be looking for a different avenue to the NCAA Regionals during their first season of competition in the ASUN Conference.
• During the offseason, 17 of Liberty's 20 NCAA Division I athletics programs moved their conference affiliation from the Big South Conference to the ASUN Conference. Liberty was a member of the Big South Conference for 27 years, starting its membership during the 1991-92 athletic year.
Scouting the Field (15 teams):
• Seven of the 15 teams in the field currently ranked inside the top 50 in the latest Golfstat national rankings.
• The Flames are among the seven top-50 teams in this weekend's tournament field: Wake Forest (No. 3), Duke (No. 9), Liberty (No. 20), Louisville (No. 21), NC State (No. 26), USF (No. 34) and Campbell (No. 41).
Looking at the Latest Rankings (Golfstat rankings as of 4/10/19):
Campbell (No. 41)
Davidson (No. 81)
Duke (No. 9)
East Carolina (No. 88)
Liberty (No. 20)
Louisville (No. 21)
Maryland (No. 109)
NC State (No. 26)
Old Dominion (No. 205)
Richmond (No. 164)
Toledo (No. 177)
USF (No. 34)
VCU (No. 142)
Virginia Tech (No. 97)
Wake Forest (No. 3)
Course Information:
• MacGregor Downs Country Club (Cary, N.C.)
• Par 72, 6,973 yards
Following the Flames at Stitch Intercollegiate:
• Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
• Twitter @LibertyGolf
• Instagram @LibertyGolf
• Round 1 Tee Time: Friday at 8:30 a.m./EST (Shot Gun start off No. 1-3)
