WEST POINT, N.Y. //  The Army and Navy men's golf teams completed the first day of action in the annual Star Match with the Black Knights taking a 2.5-1.5 advantage following Friday's four-ball matches played at the West Point Golf Course. The two teams will return to the links on Saturday with seven singles matches on tap to begin at 8:30 am. The first team to six points will be declared the winner.

Army scored the day's first point when John Heckel Jr. and Joshua Kim paired up for a 6&5 victory over the sophomore combo of Benjamin Valdez (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) and Noah Nuez (Laveen, Ariz.). The Black Knights pushed their lead to 2-0 in what was a back-and-forth match featuring familiar foes in Army's Gary Bullard and Navy team captain Keegan Shreves (Potomac, Md.). The former high school teammates at Georgetown Prep squared off in the top four-ball matchup with Bullard and James Ballato just edging Shreves and rookie Chip Deegan (Newport Beach, Calif.) 1-up.

Navy held the upper hand in the remaining two matches nearly the entire day. Sophomores Andrew Wilkinson (Ashland, Va.) and Owen Huntington (Camas, Wash.) paired up to cruise to a 3&2 victory over Army's Dragon Theam and Samuel Kim. Huntington, who has been Navy's low scorer throughout the fall, was one of three Navy players making their Star Match debut.

Meanwhile, senior Braxton Tracy (Huntersville, N.C.) and freshman Jack Tarzy (Medford, N.J.) halved their match against Army's tandem of Marshall Daniel and Rob Ferris. After trailing by three following the turn on nine, Army pulled even on the 15th.

"Overall, I thought it was a pretty good day of golf for our team," said Jimmy Stobs, Navy's first-year head coach. "We are right there with a chance to accomplish our goal. We need to take care of our business tomorrow."


Army leads Navy, 2.5-1.5

Four-Ball Results
Gary Bullard / James Ballato (A) def. Keegan Shreves / Chip Deegan (N), 1-up
John Heckel Jr. / Joshua Kim (A) def. Benjamin Valdez / Noah Nuez (N), 6&5
Braxton Tracy / Jack Tarzy (N) halved Marshall Daniel / Rob Ferris (A)
Andrew Wilkinson / Owen Huntington (N) def. Dragon Theam / Samuel Kim (A), 3&2

### Go Navy ###