St. Louis Disc Golf Club » 3.5: Gateway Collegiate Classic Recap

3.5: Gateway Collegiate Classic Recap

3/5/12: Gateway Collegiate Classic Recap

Held March 3rd and 4th by the St. Louis Disc Golf Club, the 1st Annual Gateway Collegiate Classic was a resounding success! With two coveted spots in the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships up for grabs and the added allure of a Friday evening Doubles Event at the Crystal City Underground DGC, the chance to hone one’s skills on two of the area’s beautiful and challenging Courses and strengthen the team bonds that can be so important in the Collegiate Team format proved impossible to resist.

With representatives from schools as far-flung as Mississippi State, Wisconsin-Whitewater, and Alabama – and as home grown as Lindenwood University and St. Louis Community Colleges – the 22 Team Gateway Classic was the 2nd-largest Collegiate Team event ever. School spirit was evident as players decked themselves out in team jerseys, joined in rousing cheers, and gave each other pep talks and much needed moral support after a rough throw or a missed putt. The camaraderie and class exhibited throughout the weekend by the competitors is both to be commended, and looked upon as a harbinger of good things to come as Collegiate Team disc golf grows!

Saturday’s action saw 2 rounds of singles play at Jefferson Barracks Park, and the eventual Champions jumped out to an early, and ultimately insurmountable, lead on a cold and blustery day…

click for larger image

Purdue vs. Ark. on Sunday

The Purdue University squad was ready from the word go, and placed 2 players on the lead card for the second round, with a third Boilermaker not far behind on Tee #2. Their dominance did not abate as the day grew on and the light grew thin, and after the first day of golf their 3-player total was 339 throws (1 score is dropped for each 4-person team in this format) – a full 18 strokes ahead of their nearest competition: the University of Arkansas A-Team. Illinois was but a stroke behind the Razorbacks after the rounds’ end, and an interesting situation was brewing just outside of the Top 3: In the 4-6 slots, and separated by a total of 3 throws, were all teams who had not yet received a bid to the NCDGC. With Saturday’s top finishers all having their Nationals’ Bids previously secured – and thus vying for a payout to help defray their travel & lodging costs to go to the Championships – Western Illinois, Murray State, and Ferris State Universities would all be fighting to earn their Invites on Sunday.

The second day’s format, to unfold at Endicott Park, called for an alternating team, alternating shot format that would pit two schools’ entire squads against each other per card. Purdue vs Arkansas, Illinois vs Western Illinois, and Murray State vs Ferris State at the top of the leaderboard, and teeing off near the end of the rolling-start tee times (click here for all of the matchups). Coming into the day 3 strokes behind Western Illinois, Murray State charged past Ferris State over the 18 hole track to finish just one stroke shy of taking the Top Qualifying spot. Western Illinois, who had played Illinois to a Team Score-tie through Saturday’s two rounds, again found themselves square with their competitors after Sunday’s round, securing their Nationals’ Bid, and now in a playoff for the honor of a 2nd place finish in the event. After 3 extra holes, with the match being extended by big putts from the U of I squad on the first two holes, the Western Illinois Bulldogs showed their fight and walked away victorious.

Overall Finish: (click for all the scores)
1) Purdue University
2) Western Illinois University
3) University of Illinois

Gateway Collegiate Classic NCDGC Bid Winners:
1) Western Illinois
2) Murray State

Click Here for Larger Images of the Top Finishing Teams
The St. Louis Disc Golf Club would like to thank all of the schools who participated and helped show how exciting and enjoyable a Collegiate Team event can be- we hope you enjoyed yourselves as well! The weekend couldn’t have gone off as smoothly as it did without the advance work of Ryan Black, TC Brown, Steve Klieber, and others. Many more helped throughout the weekend, including Bob Waidmann, Chris Kinsella, Ron Robertson, Vince Weber, Greg Doh, Corey O’Brien, Mark Dudenhoeffer, and everyone else! We also took a bunch of photos throughout the weekend, including Team Photos for each School, that are all available for download/etc.- see below for links.