Carlsbad, Calif. – The Georgia Tech men's golf team's 2023-24 season came to an end on Tuesday afternoon, as the Yellow Jackets fell to Florida State, 3-2, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Golf Championship.
After reaching the semifinals of the NCAA match play for the third time and second year in a row, Tech was unable to secure the necessary three points to advance to the championship match. The Yellow Jackets got match victories from seniors Bartley Forrester and Carson Kim, but lost the other three matches.
Forrester, the ACC Player of the Year, never trailed in his match with Cole Anderson, winning 3&2. Kim, a freshman from nearby Yorba Linda, also took an early lead over Gray Albright and held on for a 4&2 victory.
However, Tech was unable to clinch the third point needed for the win. Christo Lamprecht, the Yellow Jackets' top player who had missed the morning quarterfinal and stroke play due to back spasms, took a 2&1 loss to Florida State's Luke Clanton. Kale Fontenot fell in 19th hole to Tyler Weaver, while Hiroshi Tai lost 3&1 to Frederik Kjettrup in the anchor match.
"It looked good for a while," said Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler. "But I've been doing this long enough to know that sometimes it's really hard to get the third point. They (the Seminoles) were a final four team last year and signed the ACC Freshman of the Year. They earned it and they took out an incredible team (North Carolina) this morning."
With the loss, Georgia Tech's season comes to an end. The Yellow Jackets were making their sixth NCAA match play appearance, tied for the fifth-most in program history. They have now advanced to the semifinals three times.
Bruce Heppler talks after Tech's semifinal loss to FSU
"There were 300-something teams that started this season and advancing to the final four says a lot about our guys," added Heppler. "If we keep the culture, the work and the belief going, we will try to be right back here again in the same situation next year."
Florida State will face Auburn in the championship match on Wednesday, as both seek their first national title.
References:
https://ramblinwreck.com/techs-ncaa-run-ends-with-loss-to-fsu-052824/
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