April 16, 2016
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -The University of Notre Dame men’s golf team won the fourth installment of the Battle of the Warren on Saturday with a two-round, six-over par total of 574 (291-283), besting second-place Detroit Mercy (607) by 33 strokes. Canisius placed third (611).
Behind a second round 67 (-4) that included eight birdies, freshman Ben Albin claimed medalist honors with a one-under par 141 total. It marked the first win of Albin’s career and he was the only golfer to finish the day under par.
“Ben did such a great job today to earn his first collegiate win,” Head Coach Jim Kubinski said. “He’d say his 74 this morning was frustrating, as he played better than he scored. I’m proud that he put that round behind him and focused on posting the 67 in the afternoon. Too many guys want to look back on what’s done and Ben didn’t do that. He made eight birdies in the afternoon, which is a phenomenal number. It’s an instance when a player went out and won the tournament. He earned it today.”
The two-round, 36-hole tournament was played at Notre Dame’s Warren Golf Course (par 71/7,023 yards).
The Irish sent eight players into the tournament field, including starters Matthew Rushton (1), Albin (2), Blake Barens (3), Miguel Delgado (4) and Liam Cox (5), as well as individual entrants Thomas Steve, Kevin Conners and Zach Toste.
“I’m proud of our effort, as a complete team today,” Kubinski added after the win. “It was a record setting performance in that way, having our entire team (individuals too) post 148 and under. We’ve talked about needing four solid scores all year and today we had eight.”
Cox placed second overall after carding a first-round, one-under par 70, followed by an afternoon 74 for a two-round total of 144.
Barens (75-70-145), Delgado (73-72-145), Steve (73-72-145) and Conners (70-75-145) all tied for third, along with Will Wittmann of Detroit (76-69-145).
“We’ve had some adversity this season, some tough losses, but this team has never let up in their work ethic nor lost their belief in what we’re capable of,” Kubinski said. “So many guys have been growing, even when their scores weren’t yet there. Today was a big step toward those scores. When a team gets strong play from an entire lineup, it brings the belief necessary to play in any setting.”
Notre Dame continued its streak of winning the Battle at the Warren, improving to four-for-four.
The Irish last hosted the Battle at the Warren on April 22, 2012, defeating Illinois State, Marquette, Evansville and Bradley. Then senior Tom Usher won the 2012 event with a two-under par 140.
Notre Dame also won the Battle at the Warren in 2010 and 2011.
The Irish will now turn its attention to next weekend’s 2016 ACC Men’s Golf Championship, which will be played April 22-24 at the Old North State Club in New London, North Carolina.
Team Scores1. Notre Dame (291-283-574)2. Detroit (312-295-607)3. Canisius (306-305-611)
Individual Leaderboard 1. Ben Albin (2), Notre Dame (74-67-141) 2. Liam Cox (5), Notre Dame (70-74-144) 3. Blake Barens (3), Notre Dame (75-70-145) 3. Miguel Delgado (4), Notre Dame (73-72-145) 3. Thomas Steve (I), Notre Dame (73-72-145) 3. Kevin Conners (I), Notre Dame (70-75-145) 3. Will Wittmann (1), Detroit (76-69-145) 8. Hunter Sagar (2), Canisius (70-77-147) 8. Zach Toste (I), Notre Dame (74-73-147) 10. Matthew Rushton (1), Notre Dame (74-74-148) 10. Dave Thompson (5), Detroit (78-70-148) 12. David Berkun (4), Canisius (76-76-152) 13. Andrew Romano (1), Canisius (77-79-156) 14. Kyle Gaines (3), Detroit (83-75-158) 14. Zachary Soccio-Marandola (5), Canisius (85-73-158) 16. Josh Shaw (4), Detroit (79-81-160) 17. Eric MaCrow (2), Detroit (79-83-162) 18. Brendan Polsin (3), Canisius (83-82-165) 19. Cory Cullen (I), Canisius (89-82-171)
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and men’s golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).