RICHMOND, Ky. – Gabriel Mainella was sensational all weekend, and Longwood men's golf followed his lead at the Colonel Classic on Sunday at The Club at Arlington, hosted by Eastern Kentucky.
 
Mainella shattered Justin LaRue's 54-hole scoring record with a 196, and the team did the same thing with an 823 despite a windy third and final round that played havoc with teams across the field.
 
The end result: Mainella blew away the field to win the individual title, and the Lancer men won the team title as well.
 
NOTABLE RESULTS:
 
Mainella became the first player in team history to break 200, carding the low round each day in the 76-player field. He won by a whopping nine strokes with a 66-65-65—196 (-14).
 
The 196 was the lowest 54-hole score in team history by five strokes. His 14-under line also was the best score relative to par in team history as well.
 
Mainella had an eagle on the 12^th hole for a second straight round, and he had a trio of birdies as well in the final round while not having anything worse than par. For the weekend, he had two eagles and 13 birdies.
 
That led the Lancers to a three-round team score of 275-268-280—823 (-17) that shaved 16 strokes off the team's previous low round at the Joe Feaganes Invitational, set last fall. The 17-under par score was also four strokes better than that tally last fall.
 
The team fired an even-par 280 in the final round, which was enough to hold off a hard charge from EKU, who posted a 10-under 270 to close within five shots.
 
David Lafreniere battled an up-and-down round, but he birdied the final hole of the day to tie for 10^th with an even 70. He finished with a 73-65-70—208 (-2). In the final round, he had six birdies, and he finished the event with 12.
 
Hunter Swidzinski carded a 69-68-73—210 (E) to finish in 14^th. He had 12 birdies in his 54 holes.
 
Josh Cummins battled his way through the round and came through in the clutch with three straight birdies in his final three holes to keep EKU at bay. He finished tied for 19^th with a 70-72-72—214 (+4).
 
Cameron Hardison played his final three holes at one under after an up-and-down round to finish with a 70-70-75—215 (+5).
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"I'm very happy for these guys," said Longwood Head Coach Kevin Fillman. "I'm way happier for them than I am with them. Arlington showed some teeth today, so we had to dig pretty deep. We also knew EKU would make a run. They're really good and gave us all we wanted. The fact that our team, being so young, was able to fight through all the adversity we faced says a ton about these guys."
 
"Gabe was simply amazing," Fillman added. "I'm not even sure he knew how hard the golf course was playing. He just did his thing all weekend."
 
"To me, the turning point once EKU got close was how well Josh played down the stretch," Fillman said. "He had a fantastic summer and found himself in some difficult situations over the past few months. He responded after a poor start to the round and really steadied the ship for us. We have a ways to go, but I know we have a chance to be really good. Hopefully this is just the start."
 
FULL RESULTS:
 
1. Longwood: 275-268-280—823 (-17)
2. Eastern Kentucky: 280-278-270—828 (-12)
3. Morehead State: 282-276-284—842 (+2)
4. Prairie View A&M: 282-284-291—857 (+17)
T5. Mercyhurst: 288-284-295---867 (+27)
T5. Marshall: 291-288-288—867 (+27)
7. Centre: 290-288-297—875 (+35)
8. Pikeville: 291-293-299—883 (+43)
T9. Tennessee State: 301-295-291—887 (+47)
T9. Kentucky State: 290-290-307—887 (+47)
 
Individual (Longwood)
1. Gabriel Mainella: 66-65-65—196 (-14)
T10. David Lafreniere: 73-65-70—208 (-2)
14. Hunter Swidzinski: 69-68-73—210 (E)
T19. Josh Cummins: 70-72-72—214 (+4)
T22. Cameron Hardison: 70-70-75—215 (+5)
T51. Matthew Hartley: 71-71-84—226 (+16)
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood returns to action at the Ironwood Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday, September 29-30. The even is hosted at the Ironwood Country Club by East Carolina.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower