Clementon, N.J. —  Navy secured wins in three of the seven singles matches on Sunday and halved another, but it would not be enough to overcome Saturday's 3-1 deficit as the Mids dropped a 6.5-4.5 decision in the annual Army-Navy men's golf Star Match played Saturday and Sunday in Clementon, N.J.

For just the sixth time in the 82-match history, the two programs were forced to play at a neutral site with renovations currently taking place at the Naval Academy Golf Course. Pine Valley Golf Club, the nation's top-ranked golf course, served as the backdrop for this year's competition.

The Black Knights raced out to a big lead following Saturday's four-ball matches that saw the Navy tandem of Thomas Garbee (Sr / Asheville, N.C.) and Chad Deegan (So / Costa Mesa, Calif.) score the Mids' only win among the four matches. The duo posted a 5&4 victory over Army's Justin Williamson and Dragon Theam.

Navy needed a combination of five points among its seven singles matches on Sunday to secure the win.

Once again Garbee, the Mids' team captain, came through for the team, this time in singles action, earning a 2-up victory over Army sophomore Tom Katsenes, while Garbee's doubles partner, Deegan, halved the point against his foe, Samuel Kim.

Junior Ward Wilkinson (Ashland, Va.) bounced back from a tough doubles loss on Saturday to post a 2&1 win over Army senior Gunnar Doyle, while rookie Keegan Shreves (Potomac, Md.), not only playing in his first Army-Navy Star Match, but also making his first collegiate appearance, scored a 3&1 win over Army rookie Dragon Theam.

Junior Charlie Musto (Sterling, Va.), meanwhile, fell in a heart-breaker on the 18th hole to drop his match to Marshall Daniel, 1-down.

"I am incredibly proud of how the team fought back today after finding itself in a hole on Saturday," said 30th-year Navy head coach. "We came together and put forth a solid performance today and were within striking distance, but just couldn't quite close it out. While we certainly would have loved to play the match on our home course, we could not be more grateful for the opportunity to play at one of the best courses in the world, Pine Valley Golf Club."

The 2019 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA is now even at two wins apiece with men's soccer next on the docket (Friday, 7:00 pm, Chester, Pa.).

Navy returns to the links the week of Oct. 13 when they will send split squads to compete at the Bucknell Invitational (Oct. 13-14) in Lewisburg, Pa. and the Phoenix Invitational (Oct. 14-15) in Burlington, N.C.


Army 6.5, Navy 4.5
Four-Ball Results
James McKee / Samuel Kim (A) def Michael Brennan / Nicholas Klock (N), 3&2
Gary Bullard / Marshall Daniel (A) def Jake Miles / Ward Wilkinson (N), 8&7
Gunnar Doyle (A) / Tom Katsenes (A) def Charlie Musto / Keegan Shreves (N), 2&1
Thomas Garbee / Chad Deegan (N) def Justin Williamson / Dragon Theam (A), 5&4

Singles Results
Thomas Garbee (N) def Tom Katsenes (A), 2-up
Chad Deegan (N) halved Samuel Kim (A)
Ward Wilkinson (N) Gunnar Doyle (A), 2&1
Marshall Daniel (A) def Charlie Musto (N), 1-up
James McKee (A) def Michael Brennan (N), 2&1
Keegan Shreves (N) Dragon Theam (A), 3&1
Justin Williamson (A) def Nicholas Klock (N), 6&5

### Go Navy ###