WESTCHESTER, NY - The Iona College golf team will once again be taking on University College Dublin in the annual Iona-UCD Challenger's Cup. The three-day tournament is set to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 25 and conclude on Thursday, Sept. 27.
The Gaels and UCD student-athletes will have the opportunity to play at three fantastic courses. It begins at the Cherry Valley Club in Garden City, NJ on Tuesday. The middle-day is at the local Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, NY and the challenge wraps up at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Blaircliff Manor, NY.
Last fall the Gaels took down UCD for the first-time ever in Ireland. Now the main goal for Head coach
Sean Burke and the entire team – to keep the Challenger's Cup in the United States for the second year in a row.
"It'd be nice to go out on top," said senior and captain of the golf team
Paolo Matti.
Iona feels a sense of pride in playing in the United States and the local New York for this year's cup. Coach Burke and the entire team are excited to greet the College of Dublin and rekindle the friendships that have maintained themselves despite an ocean between them.
"We've been texting and kinda talking smack on social media," said reigning 2017 MAAC Rookie of the Year,
Justin Burkhamer.
Notching another win in the UCD Challenge would be a welcomed parallel to Iona's immensely successful 2017-18 campaign.
"It would be a big move in the right direction for the program," said Burke.
Last year the Maroon & Gold won the MAAC Championship for the fifth time in program history. It was the first time the Gaels hoisted the trophy since 2002.
The 2018 team, which has all but one returning, matched the program's best-ever score to par at a NCAA Regional. The 2001 team shot 916 ( 52) at the East Regional in Williamsburg, VA at the Golden Horseshow Golf Course.
Iona and UCD tee things off on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the Cherry Valley Club.
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