Men’s golf takes eighth at Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational

The University of Richmond men’s golf team finished in the middle of the leaderboard at the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational Sept. 29 and 30, earning eighth place with a score of 3-over-par. 

Despite placing lower than their first place finish from Sept. 8 and 9 at the Metropolis Intercollegiate in White Plains, NY., the Spiders improved their team score by 24 strokes. 

Richmond faced off against several Atlantic 10 teams, beating out all four conference opponents. Though, an 8-under-par second round left George Mason University only trailing Richmond by a single shot. 

The Spiders had a rocky start to the invitational, the first round marking their highest of the contest. Richmond maintained consistency throughout the round, mostly hitting even-par holes. While four of the Spiders carded 1-over-par 73 scores, junior Quin Polin trailed with a 5-over-par 77. 

Sophomore Carson Baez rose to the top of UR’s individual leaderboard in the second round, carding a 4-under-par after only picking up an over-par score on two holes. 

“Out of the gates, my speed control with putting was off and I got away with a few early,” Baez said in a press release. “After that, the mistakes kept adding up and had me really aggravated. For as good as I was driving and hitting my irons, I was just trying my best to stay patient," said Baez of his opening round performance. "I got some advice to slow the stroke down and smooth it out, then went on a heater in round 2.”

The only other Spider to record an under par score was junior Jack LaPiana, picking up a 1-under-par 71. Holes five and nine gave him trouble, with LaPiana picking up bogeys on both holes. 

A par four with water that reaches a lengthy 476 yards, hole nine gave the field the most trouble, causing 23 double bogeys and 70 bogeys over the invitational. 

As a team, Richmond made slight improvements in the final round, but the real testament of growth was LaPiana. Firing one of the lowest individual rounds of the entire contest, he jumped 24 places on the leaderboard to finish in a tie for sixth place.

His 6-under-par 66 not only marked the lowest Spider score of 2025, but also put him in the top 10 for the first time in his college career. A highlight of the day for him, LaPiana made an eagle on one of his last holes, a 545 yard par five. 

"I felt like I took advantage of the good shots that I hit early in the round and then was able to stay patient and wait for something to happen towards the end of the round, and thankfully I was able to make something happen," LaPiana said in a press release. "The eagle I made was off of a 4 iron from 230. I was just trying to put it in the center of the green but ended up pulling it just a little and it went to about 6 feet, and I was able to make the putt which was nice."

While LaPiana was the only Spider to make it under par, Richmond finished the round with a 2-under-par team score. The day settled UR in between Campbell University and George Mason, the Spiders never quite leaving the middle of the pack. 

Junior Parker Moellinger wrapped up play in the Shepherd's Rock Individual Sep. 30, also at Nemacolin Resort, with a career-best 4-under 68, his first collegiate round under par.

"It was a good fight from the guys today," Head Coach Adam Decker said in a press release. "We were disappointed with the day yesterday and talked about playing the par 5s better and also the importance of not waiting for the result to be confident."

Next up, the Spiders head to Statesboro, Ga. for Bash in the Boro Oct. 13 and 14. 

Contact sports editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu