Duke Falls to NC State, 4.5-3.5, in I-40 Cup

Friday, April 15

Raleigh, N.C.

Duke University

3.5

4.5

NC State

Photo by: Andy Mead

Duke Falls to NC State, 4.5-3.5, in I-40 Cup

4/15/2022 7:05:00 PM | Men's Golf

FINAL RESULTS

RALEIGH – It came down to the final match, but the Duke men's golf team was edged by NC State, 4.5-3.5, in the I-40 Cup Match Play event Friday at the Carolina Country Club in Raleigh.

Sophomore Jimmy Zheng and freshmen Kelly Chinn and Luke Sample won their matches to secure three points for the Blue Devils, while sophomore Daniel Uranga halved his match to account for the Blue Devils' 3.5 points.

With Duke trailing by a 4-3 score, but holding the predetermined tiebreaker in its favor, Uranga would have to win his match versus State's Thomas Deal to get his team the victory, and was 1-up going to the 18th hole. Deal scrambled for a two-putt par and Uranga bogeyed to give the Wolfpack the victory.

"Our guys had a great time competing today," said head coach Jamie Green. "NC State came out with a win and congratulations to them, they battled. It was great for Daniel to get down to that final match and that final hole. I know he's disappointed, but at the end of the day, for him to be in the hunt and dig in there like he did at the end of the match, we were excited for him."

Duke's full points came thanks to three decisive victories by Zheng (5&4 over Spencer Oxendine), Chinn (5&3 over Carter Graf) and Sample (3&2 over Ethan Choi).

Sample was up two at the turn after shooting a sizzling 6-under 30 on the front nine, including four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 sixth. Sample, though, was down two early after his opponent eagled the par-4 third. The Blue Devil regrouped, winning four of his next six holes to take a 2-up lead at the turn. He stretched the lead to three and closed out Choi with a par on 16 to win 3&2.

Chinn was also 2-up at the turn thanks to a 6-under 30 on the opening nine. The freshman extended the lead with a par on 11 and put the match on ice with consecutive birdie wins on 14 and 15 to win 5&3.

Zheng was in command from the start, leading 5-up at the turn after shooting 32. The sophomore dropped the 13th hole with a par to fall back to 4-up, but closed out Oxendine with a birdie on 14 for a 5&4 victory.

"We did have three of our top five guys win their matches today," said Green. "So it bodes pretty well when the whole idea here was to get ready for ACC and NCAA Championship match play."

Senior Quinn Riley and State's Easton Paxton traded blows in a high-level match that saw Paxton win 1-up after shooting 5-under 67 to best Riley's 4-under 68. Paxton seized a 1-up lead with a birdie on the sixth. Riley would pull even on three different occasions, but was unable to grab a lead and Paxton closed him out with a par on 18.

Sophomore Ian Siebers was edged in his match versus Maximilian Steinlechenr, 3&2. Graduate student Qi wen Wong fell 2&1 to Jake Wiktor, while Brandon Einstein defeated John Peters, 6&5.

Duke heads next to the ACC Championship, which begins April 21 at Watersound Club in Panama City Beach, Fla. The teams will play three rounds of stroke play with the top four teams advancing to match play to determine the ACC champion.

I-40 Cup Match Play Final Results
Ian Siebers (Duke) vs. Maximilian Steinlechner (NC State) -- State, 3&2
Jimmy Zheng (Duke) vs. Spencer Oxendine (NC State) -- Duke, 5&4
Quinn Riley (Duke) vs. Easton Paxton (NC State) -- State, 1-up
Qi wen Wong (Duke) vs. Jake Wiktor (NC State) -- State, 2&1
Daniel Uranga (Duke) vs. Thomas Deal (NC State) -- Halved
John Peters (Duke) vs. Brandon Einstein (NC State) -- State, 6&5
Kelly Chinn (Duke) vs. Carter Graf (NC State) -- Duke, 5&3
Luke Sample (Duke) vs. Ethan Choi (NC State) -- Duke, 3&2

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