April 9, 2006
Princeton Invitational Results
PRINCETON, N.J. - Led by freshman Chip Hardie's (Arnold, Md.) 15th-place finish, the Navy golf team placed 12th out of 14 teams at the Princeton Invitational Sunday, producing a 47-over par 615 (311-304 - 615) at the Springdale Golf Club in Princeton, N.J. The Mids were just four strokes behind 10th-place Liberty (318-293 - 611) and St. John's (312-299 - 611), while finishing a stroke ahead of Rutgers (318-298 - 616).
Columbia edged host Princeton by two strokes to claim the team title with a 26-over par 594. Princeton turned in a second-place 28-over par 596, while George Mason (598, +30), George Washington (598, +30), Georgetown (601, +33) and Rider (601+33) rounded out the top five. Columbia's Chris Condello was the lone player in the tournament to finish under par, pacing the field with a 2-under 140.
Hardie, who was playing in just his third tournament for the Midshipmen, led the way for Navy with an 8-over par 150. The rookie shot a 6-over par 77 in the opening round, but gained ground on the competition with a 2-over par 72 on the final day to finish in a three-way tie for 15th. Hardie played in just one competition in the fall for the Mids, a 73rd-place finish at the Navy Fall Invitational. He tied for 24th at the Iona Invitational a month ago where he posted an 18-over par 160.
Senior Bryan Stoniecki (Montgomery, Ill.) tied for 48th with a 14-over par 156 (80-76), while newcomer Eric Stinson (Spotsylvania, Va.) finished a stroke behind Stoniecki in 51st. Stinson, the Patriot League Player of the Month, shot a 5-over par 76 in the opening round, but the final round got the best of him and he shot a 10-over par 81.
Junior Jeremy Garner (Fayetteville, Ga.) struggled in the opening round where he turned in an 84, but regrouped and found his stroke on Sunday where he produced in a team-low 3-over par 74. Garner tied for 58th with a 16-over par 158. Rounding out the field for the Mids was second-year player Chris Renninger (Darnestown, Md.) who posted a 17-over par 159 and finished tied for 63rd.
The Midshipmen return to action next Saturday and Sunday when they play host to the Navy Spring Invitational at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course.
G-o N-a-v-y
