ALPHARETTA -- BYU took on No.1 ranked Georgia Tech and conceded a 5.5-1.5 dual-match loss at the Golf Club of Georgia on Saturday.
The contest was much closer than the score indicated as the Cougars fought back from an early deficit to challenge the Yellow Jackets till the end in this Ryder Cup style match-up.
"They jumped on us early, but we came back and made them squirm a bit," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "Our guys played great to narrow the gap, and we had a chance at pulling out the victory going into the last three holes, but they made some great shots to close it out."
Two Cougars seeing their first action at BYU, freshman Clay Bingham and transfer Clark Rustand struggled against their Georgia Tech counterparts as Chan Wongluekiet claimed a 6 and 5 win over Rustand and Thomas Jordan followed with a 5 and 3 win over Bingham for a Tech 2-0 advantage.
Sophomore Ron Harvey Jr. lifted the Cougars back into contention as he outplayed Georgia Tech's Michael Barbosa with a 4 and 3 victory. The final four points came down to the wire, but the Cougars lost 3 1/2 points in the last three holes to give the top-ranked Yellow Jackets the victory.
Freshman Daniel Summerhays took on the defending NCAA Champion Troy Matteson and was down one shot going into the 14th hole, but Matteson's birdie on 16 gave him a 3 and 2 win. Jared Overton also played well and was up one going into the final three holes, but All-American Nicholas Thompson came back to take a 2 and 1 victory. Junior Devin Heid was down one heading into the 18th hole, but Wren Fowler pulled out the 2 up victory.
In the day's final match, sophomore Greg Machtaler led with one hole to play, but Tech's Adam Cranford sunk a 35-foot birdie putt to halve the match with Machtaler.
"This was a real confidence builder for this young team to play against a quality program like Georgia Tech," Brockbank said. "I'm pleased with how we hung in there after falling behind early."
Next up for the Cougars is the Club Glove Pepperdine Intercollegiate at the Satacoy Country Club in Los Angeles on Oct. 7-8.
GEORGIA TECH 5.5 vs. BYU 1.5
1.Troy Matteson (GT) d. Daniel Summerhays (B), 3 and 2
2.Nicholas Thompson (GT) d. Jared Overton (B), 2 and 1
3.Adam Cranford (GT) vs. Greg Machtaler (B), Halved
4.Ron Harvey (B) d. Michael Barbosa (GT), 4 and 3
5.Wren Fowler (GT) d. Devin Heid (B), 2 up
6.Chan Wongluekiet (GT) d. Clark Rustand (B), 6 and 5
7.Thomas Jordan (GT) d. Clay Bingham (B), 5 and 3