WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army and Navy men's golf teams completed the first day of action in the annual Star Match, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA on Saturday at the West Point Golf Club. Through the first day of action, the Black Knights hold a slight 2.5-1.5 advantage over the Midshipmen. The two teams will return to the links on Sunday with seven singles matches on tap. The first team to six points will be declared the winner.
The two teams halved the opening point of the four-ball competition. Navy's
Sebastian Alonzo (So. / Azusa, Calif.) and
Collin Alstrin (Fr. / Prosper, Texas) were all square with Army's William Huang and Grant Paolucci through 18 holes on the first day of competition.
The Black Knight duo of Drew Jeffords and Jack Parel were able to edge the Midshipmen tandem of
Danny Auffant (Sr. / Bellevue, Wash.) and Timmy Luckett (So. / Annapolis, Md.), 3&2, to take the team lead.
In the third four-ball match of the day, Navy's
Payton Cowhey (Fr. / Tallahassee, Fla.) and
Elijah Estonilo (Fr. / Allen, Texas) tied the overall match by defeating Army's Andre Chang and Ryan Lopez, 3&1, in their first career Star Match.
The Black Knights regained the advantage with a 3&2 win in the final pairing as Tyson Sparks and Matthew Duke defeated
Hudson Mitchell (So. / Pensacola, Fla.) and
Josh Durthaler (So. / Dunwoody, Ga.).
This weekend's golf match marks the third among 26 Army-Navy Star competitions played over the course of the academic year that determine the winner of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. The annual showdown between the two rivals in each sport is deemed the Star Game / Match / Meet with the athletes from the winning team receiving a Star for their letter sweaters. For those sports who face Army multiple times in a season, the Star Game is designated prior to the start of the year.
The annual rivalry kicked off on Sept. 25 with Army capturing a 21-12 victory over Navy in sprint football. Less than 24 hours later, Navy scored a 26-14 win over the Black Knights in men's rugby to even the series.
Navy leads the all-time overall series against Army, 1225-928-46 (56.8), including a 179-132-5 (57.5) mark over the last 10 years. Additionally, the Mids own a 127-81-5 (60.9) advantage in the Star Series over that same timeframe (2017-18 to present). In 2021-22, Navy had unprecedented success in both the Star and overall series, posting a 20-4 (83.3) mark in Star competitions and a 27-9 record in overall contests against Army. Last year, Navy won the series for the 11th time in the last 12 years, posting a 17-8-1 record in Star events and a 25-12-1 mark in head-to-head events.
Oct. 3, 2026 | West Point, N.Y.
Army 2.5 | Navy 1.5
Four-Ball Matches
Sebastian Alonzo /
Collin Alstrin (N) vs. William Huang and Grant Paolucci (A) / Halved
Drew Jeffords and Jack Parel (A) def.
Danny Auffant and Timmy Luckett (N) / 3&2
Payton Cowhey and
Elijah Estonilo (N) def. Andre Chang and Ryan Lopez (A) / 3&1
Tyson Sparks and Matthew Duke (A) def.
Hudson Mitchell and
Josh Durthaler / 3&2
Singles Matches
Elijah Estonilo (N) vs. Ryan Lopez (A)
Danny Auffant (N) vs. Andre Chang (A)
Tim Luckett (N) vs. Grant Paolucci (A)
Payton Cowhey (N) vs. Tyson Sparks (A)
Josh Durthaler (N) vs. Jack Parel (A)
Hudson Mitchell (N) vs. William Huang (A)
Sebastian Alonzo (N) vs. Drew Jeffords (A)
