Monday, October 7
Bridgeport, WV
All Day
Rice University
at
Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational
Golf Makes First Trip to West Virginia for Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational
10/6/2019 3:36:00 PM | Men's Golf
HOUSTON — Rice continues its 2019 fall season this Monday-Tuesday, October 7-8, when it travels to Bridgeport, W.V. for the fifth annual Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational, hosted by West Virginia. The tournament will be played at the par-72, 7,308-yard Pete Dye Golf Club.
JUSTIN EMIL QUOTABLE
"There's a big reason behind why we're going to West Virginia. We want to get the experience of traveling and playing well. It's important for us to be able to take our game on the road, go to a different type of golf course, a different type of grass (and) a different climate. We're going to be playing in cooler weather than we've played up to this point. All of those experiences that we're throwing into this bucket are huge for us as we pursue the postseason."
TEAM FIELD
Joining Rice in the field are No. 18 West Virginia, Akron, Connecticut, Davidson, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, George Washington, James Madison, Marshall, Southern Miss, Towson, Washington State, Xavier and Youngstown State.
LIVE SCORING
Fan can follow live scoring from the Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational by visiting Golfstat.com or by clicking here.
THE LINEUP
Jake Benson – No. 1 position … leads the team with 70.50 strokes per round … has a top five and two top ten finishes to start the year … has recorded five rounds under par … began the year tying for fourth-place at the Lone Star Invitational … became the first Owl to open the season with a top-five finish since Michael Buttacavoli finished runner-up at the 2009 UTA/Waterchase Invitational … tied for seventh-place at the Trinity Forest Invitational, where he fired a season-low 68 in the first round … tied his career-low 36-hole (138) and 54-hole (208) scores at the Trinity Forest … participated in the 2019 NCAA Austin Regional.
Nicholas Duggan – No. 2 position … the only senior on the team … is tied for second on the team with 73.00 strokes per round has two rounds of par or better … tied for 22nd-place at the season-opening Lone Star Invitational … twice carded a season-best 71 at the Trinity Forest Invitational … saw action in 12 tournaments last year … was second on the team with a 73.94 stroke average ... recorded nine rounds of par or better, the second-most on the team … had three top 20 finishes … had a season-best tied for 15th-place finish at the Ram Masters Invitational, where he fired a season-best 68 in the first round.
Rishi Kejriwal – No. 3 position … is tied for second on the team with 73.00 strokes per round … has two rounds of par or better this year … tied for 26th at the season-opening Lone Star Invitational … twice fired a season-best 70 at the Trinity Forest Invitational, where he also tied his career-low 36-hole score (143).
Harrison Hineline – No. 4 position … is averaging 73.50 strokes per round … has two rounds of par or better … fired a career-best 66 in the second round of the Trinity Forest Invitational, tied for the fourth-lowest round since 1991 … tied for 32nd-place at the season-opening Lone Star Invitational … participated in six tournaments last year, recording a 75.71 stroke average … had five rounds of par or better … recorded a season-best 68 in the final round of the Bayou City Collegiate Classic, where he tied for fifth-place.
Austin Escamilla – No. 5 position … is making his first start of the season … averaged 76.00 strokes per round last year … had six rounds of par or better … earned his first career top-ten finish at the Conference USA Championship, tying for 10th-place.
PAIRINGS
For Monday's first and second rounds, the Owls will tee off from holes No. 4 through No. 7 at 7:30 a.m. CT. Rice will compete in groups with student-athletes from Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss. Tuesday's tee times and pairings will depend on results after the first two rounds.
UP NEXT
Following the Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational, the Owls close its fall schedule when they travel to Loxley, Ala., for the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 26-27.
JUSTIN EMIL QUOTABLE
"There's a big reason behind why we're going to West Virginia. We want to get the experience of traveling and playing well. It's important for us to be able to take our game on the road, go to a different type of golf course, a different type of grass (and) a different climate. We're going to be playing in cooler weather than we've played up to this point. All of those experiences that we're throwing into this bucket are huge for us as we pursue the postseason."
TEAM FIELD
Joining Rice in the field are No. 18 West Virginia, Akron, Connecticut, Davidson, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, George Washington, James Madison, Marshall, Southern Miss, Towson, Washington State, Xavier and Youngstown State.
LIVE SCORING
Fan can follow live scoring from the Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational by visiting Golfstat.com or by clicking here.
THE LINEUP
Jake Benson – No. 1 position … leads the team with 70.50 strokes per round … has a top five and two top ten finishes to start the year … has recorded five rounds under par … began the year tying for fourth-place at the Lone Star Invitational … became the first Owl to open the season with a top-five finish since Michael Buttacavoli finished runner-up at the 2009 UTA/Waterchase Invitational … tied for seventh-place at the Trinity Forest Invitational, where he fired a season-low 68 in the first round … tied his career-low 36-hole (138) and 54-hole (208) scores at the Trinity Forest … participated in the 2019 NCAA Austin Regional.
Nicholas Duggan – No. 2 position … the only senior on the team … is tied for second on the team with 73.00 strokes per round has two rounds of par or better … tied for 22nd-place at the season-opening Lone Star Invitational … twice carded a season-best 71 at the Trinity Forest Invitational … saw action in 12 tournaments last year … was second on the team with a 73.94 stroke average ... recorded nine rounds of par or better, the second-most on the team … had three top 20 finishes … had a season-best tied for 15th-place finish at the Ram Masters Invitational, where he fired a season-best 68 in the first round.
Rishi Kejriwal – No. 3 position … is tied for second on the team with 73.00 strokes per round … has two rounds of par or better this year … tied for 26th at the season-opening Lone Star Invitational … twice fired a season-best 70 at the Trinity Forest Invitational, where he also tied his career-low 36-hole score (143).
Harrison Hineline – No. 4 position … is averaging 73.50 strokes per round … has two rounds of par or better … fired a career-best 66 in the second round of the Trinity Forest Invitational, tied for the fourth-lowest round since 1991 … tied for 32nd-place at the season-opening Lone Star Invitational … participated in six tournaments last year, recording a 75.71 stroke average … had five rounds of par or better … recorded a season-best 68 in the final round of the Bayou City Collegiate Classic, where he tied for fifth-place.
Austin Escamilla – No. 5 position … is making his first start of the season … averaged 76.00 strokes per round last year … had six rounds of par or better … earned his first career top-ten finish at the Conference USA Championship, tying for 10th-place.
PAIRINGS
For Monday's first and second rounds, the Owls will tee off from holes No. 4 through No. 7 at 7:30 a.m. CT. Rice will compete in groups with student-athletes from Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss. Tuesday's tee times and pairings will depend on results after the first two rounds.
UP NEXT
Following the Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational, the Owls close its fall schedule when they travel to Loxley, Ala., for the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 26-27.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
WBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02