 "Photo: Nancy Rosenthal/The Daily Texan")
The fourth-ranked Longhorns ended their fall season on a slightly sour note early this week as they finished eighth out of 12 teams at the Baylor Intercollegiate in Dallas.
Rain cut the afternoon round Monday at Royal Oaks Country Club short, and the Horns could not muster a run at the title when they resumed play Tuesday morning to complete the second and third rounds, finishing at 23-over, 27 strokes behind eventual winner Texas A&M .
As a team, the Horns struggled through the first two rounds on the par 71, 7,068-yard course, shooting 13-over 297 in round one and 12-over 296 in round two, removing them from contention before the beginning of the final round Tuesday afternoon. Texas turned it around during the final 18 holes, however, ending the year with a 2-under 282.
“I’m happy we came back with the 282 in the final round ... but we have a lot of work to do,” said coach John Fields. “We’ll try to put the clubs down for a little while after having a positive fall. Now, it’s time to refocus for the spring and make the right adjustments.”
Sophomore Dylan Frittelli and freshman Cody Gribble were bright spots for the Longhorns on Tuesday, finishing with rounds of par or better, and continuing their solid play from last week’s UTSA Lone Star Invitational. Frittelli, who finished tied for seventh individually, had four birdies in his final round en route to a 1-under 70 and a three-round total of even par (72-70-71).
Gribble, who is a Dallas native, had the best round of the tournament for the Longhorns on Tuesday afternoon, firing a 3-under 68, a round which included five birdies. Gribble finished with a three-round total of 221 (75-78-68), 8-over par.
“Cody Gribble really experienced the first tough tournament of his career, but he came back and played well in the final round,” Fields said. “That’s the measure of a really fine player. I’m happy for Dylan Frittelli to get another top-10 finish.”
Junior Donald Constable and sophomore Alex Moon also finished strong, shooting three-round totals of 8-under par. Moon shot a final round 1-under par 70, carding two birdies and only one bogey. Sophomore Steffan Schmieding struggled to a three-round total of 28-over par. Freshman Johnathan Schnitzer, who competed as an individual, shot 22-over for the three rounds.
The Longhorns won’t return to tournament play until Feb. 21, 2010 at the Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Mar, Puerto Rico.
