Lafayette Drops Presidents' Cup to Lehigh

GLADSTONE, N.J. - Lafayette took on Lehigh on Thursday at Hamilton Farm Golf Club for the annual Presidents' Cup. The Mountain Hawks defended the trophy, using an 11.5-8.5 score to retain possession in the match-play event.

Action began with the better ball event, where Lehigh captured an early 4-1 advantage. The Maroon and White tallied their first point courtesy of Harry Dessel and Winston Kelenc-Blank, as the pair edged out Will Caronchi and Jake Roth in a 2-up victory.

The day's next event was alternate shot, with the Leopards winning four points. Sophomores Reed Theiss and Harrison Browne started Lafayette off with a 2-1 win over Paulius Maclius and Luke Block. Rookies Chris Vahey and Liam Brandt followed with a 2-up victory two pairings later, defeating Lehigh's Aiden LeBlanc and Noah Zyung.

Ending the alternate shot competition was Dessel and Kelenc-Blank. The upperclassmen muscled out their second win of the day over Caronchi and Roth, this time a 1-up final. Entering single matches, Lehigh held a 6-4 lead over the Leopards.

In the final event of the competition, Browne continued his winning ways with a 1-up victory against Block. Freshman Viktor Kofod-Olsen triumphed over Drew Gooden two matches later, winning 2-1. The next match between Theiss and Ryan Cronin resulted in an all-sqaure. Brandt faced off with LeBlanc, walking away with a 3-1 final. Travis Robertson defeated Caronchi 2-1 prior to the final match of the day. Lehigh's Roth narrowly defeated Dessel, 2-1, to finalize the 11.5-8.5 score.

The Leopards retake the course when they compete in the Roar-EE Invitational, hosted by Coumbia, on Saturday.