George Washington University Athletics
Golf's Pumariega, Kircher Sweep A-10 Weekly Honors
3/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 21, 2011
NEWPORT NEWS, VA -- GW junior Andres Pumariega and freshman Benton Kircher have been named Atlantic 10 Conference Performer and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for men's golf, the league office announced Monday. It marks the second consecutive week that Pumariega has won the honor and the first A-10 weekly award for Kircher.
Pumariega won both of GW's competitions last week. He captured individual medalist honors in the 51-player field at the 13th annual George Washington Invitational at the par 72, 6,834-yard Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club in Bethany Beach, DE. Pumariega fired a three-round 215 that included a two-under-par 70 in Friday's second round. Pumariega and Yale's Sam Bernstein entered Saturday's third round tied at 141 but the junior from Miami, Fla., held on for the one-stroke victory with a two-over 74 while Bernstein turned in a 75 on Saturday. Pumariega becomes the first Colonial to win a tournament since Juan Pablo Zuluaga's victory in a 2006 dual match against McDaniel College. Pumariega also became the first GW individual to win a 54-hole tournament since Brian Carroll's victory in the 2005 Joe Agee Invitational in Williamsburg, VA.
The reigning A-10 Performer of the Week, Pumariega is on a hot streak as he parred 36 holes and recorded 10 birdies over the 54-hole tournament. It marked his first victory as a Colonial and second top-10 finish of the season. On Monday, March 14, Pumariega edged St. Thomas's Derek Wilcox (75) and Jacob Good (75) by one stroke and teammate Brendan Barrack (76) by two strokes to win medalist honors in a dual match during the team's Spring Break training trip to Miami.
Kircher fired a 77-78-75 (230) to place 18th out of 51 participants at the GW Invitational in Bethany Beach, DE, for his first top-20 finish of his college career. The freshman from Pittsford, NY, averaged 4.83 strokes on all par 5 holes at the GW Invitational. In the dual match against St. Thomas, Kircher finished eighth with an 11-over par 83.
The Colonials' next competition will take place April 4 in the Penn Quaker Invitational at Philadelphia's Cricket Club.
Players Mentioned
