ATLANTA – The fourth-seeded Auburn men's golf team secured a 4-1 victory against top seed Duke in the semifinals of match play at the 2018 East Lake Cup Tuesday afternoon at East Lake GC.
The Tigers earned the resounding win behind individual match winners Brandon Mancheno, Wells Padgett, Jovan Rebula and Jacob Solomon.
Solomon earned Auburn's first point of the match with a win against Duke's Shrish Dwivedi, 6&5. After the match was tied through three holes, the senior won four of the next five holes to open a commanding lead and close out the front nine. Following two more hole wins to begin the back nine, Solomon secured the result on the 13th hole.
Rebula won the Tigers' second point of the semifinal with a 4&3 victory vs. the Blue Devils' Evan Katz. He took the lead after the first hole and never looked back. The junior brought his lead to as much as four on the front nine before finishing the match off with a win on hole No. 15.
Mancheno carded the team's clinching point with a dramatic finish against Duke's Chandler Eaton. The sophomore trailed by three in as many holes to begin play, but chipped away at the lead before knotting the match up on the eighth hole.
Mancheno and Eaton went shot-for-shot until Eaton went 1-up with two holes to go. Mancheno then birdied the 17th to make the match all square. The Jacksonville, Fla. took advantage Eaton's bogey on the final by earning a birdie and the result for Auburn.
Padgett won his back-and-forth affair with Duke's Alex Smalley, 1-up. The sophomore trailed by one through the front nine, but caught fire on the final nine holes. Padgett tied the match on the 10th hole and took the lead on the 13th hole - a lead he wouldn't relinquish - en route to securing the win on the 18th.
Duke's lone point came in Adrien Pendaries' 7&6 win over Trace Crowe.
The Tigers are set to face third-seeded Alabama, who won 3-2 against No. 2 seed Oklahoma State, in the championship match of the East Lake Cup. Tee off is set to begin at 11:55 a.m. CT Wednesday morning from the first tee box.
Golf Channel will carry a live broadcast from 2-5 p.m. CT with a re-air set for 9 p.m.-12 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.
Match Play Results - Semifinals
(4) Auburn 4, (1) Duke 1
Adrien Pendaries (DU) def. Trace Crowe (AU), 7&6
Brandon Mancheno (AU) def. Chandler Eaton (DU), 1-up
Wells Padgett (AU) def. Alex Smalley (DU), 1-up
Jovan Rebula (AU) def. Evan Katz (DU), 4&3
Jacob Solomon (AU) def. Shrish Dwivedi (DU), 6&5
(3) Alabama 3, (2) Oklahoma State 2
Match Play Pairings - Championship
Auburn (4) vs. Alabama (3)
11:55 a.m. CT - Trace Crowe (AU) vs. Davis Riley (UA)
12:15 p.m. CT - Jacob Solomon (AU) vs. Davis Shore (UA)
12:35 p.m. CT - Brandon Mancheno (AU) vs. Prescott Butler (UA)
12:55 p.m. CT - Jovan Rebula (AU) vs. Wilson Furr (UA)
1:15 p.m. CT - Wells Padgett (AU) vs. Frankie Capan (UA)
Tigers torch Blue Devils in East Lake Cup semifinals
