In his first competition of the year, Nick Losole earned a clutch birdie late to seal NU's win over No. 1 UCLA Thursday.In his first competition of the year, Nick Losole earned a clutch birdie late to seal NU's win over No. 1 UCLA Thursday.

Northwestern Defeats No. 1 UCLA in Head-to-Head Match At Evanston Golf Club

Oct. 13, 2011

SKOKIE, Ill. -- In a preview of the 15th Windon Memorial Classic next week, Northwestern defeated top-ranked UCLA, 3.5-1.5, in a head-to-head match play showdown Thursday afternoon at Evanston Golf Club.

The Bruins, ranked No. 1 in the most recent edition of the GCAA Coaches Poll, were without their No. 1 player Patrick Cantlay, who is currently the world's No. 1-ranked amateur. The Wildcats, meanwhile, also played without their No. 1, Eric Chun, who recently returned to the U.S. following a T14 performance at the Asian Amateur Championship. Both players will compete at the Oct. 16-17 Windon Memorial Classic with their respective lineups.

Both teams slogged through several periods of strong rain, the first in the Chicago area after several weeks of phenomenally warm, sunny weather. Head coach Pat Goss tweeted that Evanston GC is "in great shape" and that he is "looking forward to the Windon this weekend."

The match mirrored the final stages of the NCAA Championship, during which the top-eight teams after 54 holes of stroke play square off in head-to-head, five-man match-play contests to determine the national champion. UCLA advanced to the match play portion of the 2011 NCAA Championship, where it fell to Duke in the quarterfinals. Northwestern qualified for the 2011 NCAA National Championships as well, placing 22nd overall.

UCLA claimed the first point of Thursday's match when Jack Perry (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) fell to Anton Arboleda, 3 and 2, but Northwestern took control from there. Bennett Lavin (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) put the Wildcats on the board with a commanding 5 and 4 victory over Matt Pinizzotto while senior Sam Chien (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) played solidly all day long to win his match over Jay Hwang, 2 and 1.

With Northwestern now up 2-1, sophomore Nick Losole (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Notre Dame) earned the clinching point with a 1 up victory over European Palmer Cup team member Pontus Widegren. With the match all-square through 16 holes, Losole stepped up with a birdie at the 220-yard, par-3 17th to go dormie on the 18th, which the players halved to give Losole the win.

Losole was playing in his first competition of the year after he missed NU's first three tournaments while recovering from an injury.

Freshman Matthew Negri (El Cajon, Calif./Grossmont) entered the 18th 1 down in his match against Alex Kim, but won the 473-yard par-4 finishing hole to earn a half point for the Wildcat side.

The two teams will be joined by Golfstat's eighth-ranked squad Arkansas, which already has two tourney wins this season, and 14 other schools for the 15th Windon Memorial Classic Sunday and Monday, Oct. 16-17, at Evanston Golf Club in Skokie, Ill. The tournament is comprised of an 8:30 a.m. CT shotgun start for 36 holes of play on Sunday before the final round on Monday. Admission is free to spectators.

FINAL RESULTS
Anton Arboleda (UCLA) d. Jack Perry (NU), 3 and 2
Bennett Lavin (NU) d. Matt Pitazzoto (UCLA), 5 and 4
Sam Chien (NU) d. Jay Hwang (UCLA), 2 and 1
Nick Losole (NU) d. Pontus Widegren, 1 up
Matthew Negri (NU) and Alex Kim (UCLA), Halved

Northwestern wins, 3.5 to 1.5

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