ATLANTA, Georgia – The last two NCAA champions squared off in the third-place match at the East Lake Cup on Wednesday, and the Pepperdine men's golf team defeated Texas, 4-1, behind wins by
Luke Gifford,
Ian Maspat,
William Mouw and
Sam Choi.
This was Pepperdine's third straight appearance at this exclusive tournament, which typically invites back the final four teams from the previous spring's NCAA Championships. The Waves won the East Lake Cup in 2020 (en route to winning the 2021 national title) and took third place in 2021 (before going on to reach the NCAA semifinals).
MATCH RESULTS
- Luke Gifford (PEPP) def. Alejandro Gonzalez (UT), 7&6 – Gifford won the first hole and never looked back in a dominating performance. Gifford led by five after seven holes. Gonzalez only won a single hole during the round, which came on 8. But Gifford came right back with wins on 9, 10 and 11 to take a seven-hole lead with seven to play, and the match ended on 12 after the players halved.
- Ian Maspat (PEPP) def. Mason Nome (UT), 1 up – Maspat trailed for a total of 10 holes during the round, and only led for two of them, but rallied to put the Waves up 2-0. He was down two holes after five, but tied it on eight. Maspat took his first lead on 10, but it was short-lived as Nome won 11 and 12 to go back in front. Still down one after 15, Maspat evened the match on 16, and won it on 18.
- William Mouw (PEPP) def. Christiaan Maas (UT), 4&3 – Mouw earned his second match-play victory in two days and provided the clinching point over the Longhorns. He never trailed in his match. He was up by two after five holes, though Maas was able to briefly tie it after nine. But Mouw won holes 10 and 11, and then put the match away after bettering his opponent on 14 and 15.
- Travis Vick (UT) def. Derek Hitchner (PEPP), 1 up – The matchup was abandoned after 14 holes once the team result became final. Hitchner was up three after seven holes, but Vick rallied down the stretch, capturing each of the final three holes that were played.
- Sam Choi (PEPP) def. Keaton Vo (UT), 1 up – The match went back and forth before Choi won it on the 18th hole. Vo took the lead after three, but Choi won 4, 6 and 7 to go up by two. Vo then won three straight holes to go up one after 10. Choi tied it on 11, but Vo went back in front by one on 13. Choi was able to tie the match back up on 17. The match was played to its completion and Choi also won the 18th to wrap up the victory.
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Michael Beard said: "For us as a team, this was an important match today. You always want to be playing in the championship match, but I know for our guys this meant something to them, and to the coaches as well. It just feels good to be able to end the fall season that way. We've been here for eight days now and played a lot of golf. It was a treat to be here at East Lake."
Ian Maspat said: "I just played against myself, really. I just tried to do the best I possibly could every hole and tried to not think about what he's doing, just worry about myself and just play golf ... I never gave up. That's all that matters. I'm glad to have gotten it done ... It's amazing. I was here last year just traveling with them and I got to just watch. It was eating at me not being able to play. I wanted to be out here playing, being in this competition. It feels great to be here."
UP NEXT
The Waves will take about a three-month break until the spring season opens with their own Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, which is set for January 30-February 1. The event will be televised by the Golf Channel.
