For Immediate Release: July 22, 2006
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

BU golfer Wolniewicz is runnerup at New York State Amateur Championship
Senior-to-be concludes great run at CC of Troy; teammate Vinal reaches semifinals

Championship Results

TROY, N.Y. - Two months after teaming up to lead the Binghamton University golf team to an NCAA Championship berth, senior-to-be Jeff Wolniewicz (West Seneca, N.Y.) and junior-to-be Zach Vinal (Syracuse, N.Y.) orchestrated great runs at the 84th New York State Golf Association Men's Amateur Championship. Wolniewicz earned runnerup honors and Vinal reached the tournament semifinals.

Wolniewicz, who was seeded 29th (out of 32) after the qualifying rounds, rattled off five consecutive wins in match play, including a 19-hole victory over No. 8 seed Dan McCarthy in the semifinals. Vinal nearly made it an all-Binghamton final at the par-71 6,594-yard Country Club of Troy. He took eventual winner Andrew DiBitetto to the 18th hole before succumbing.

In the 36-hole championship match, Wolniewicz was just one down headed to the final nine holes but two bogies in a three-hole span swung the match to DiBitetto. Wolniewicz was most impressive in his 2 and 1 quarterfinal victory over 12th-seeded Stephen Goodridge. In that match, he fired five birdies with no bogies before clinching the match on the 17th green.

The championship began with two rounds of stroke play Tuesday and Wednesday. Wolniewicz and Vinal advanced to match play by finishing among the top-32 among 155 golfers. Wolniewicz (70-77), representing Crag Burn Golf Club near Buffalo, shot 70-77 while Vinal, whose home course is the Country Club of Syracuse, shot 74-73 and was seeded 26th. Each player won his first two matches on Thursday. Wolniewicz knocked off the No. 4 seed and then the No. 20 seed in succession. Vinal, meanwhile, posted a 3 and 2 win over Jamison Sindelar - the son of PGA Tour golfer Joey Sindelar. He then thumped the No. 10 seed 5 and 4.

Wolniewicz has been BU's top man for the past two seasons. He posted a 75.4 scoring average this year, and earned PING all-region honors for the second straight year. He also was a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar - one of several academic honors bestowed upon him. Earlier in the summer, Wolniewicz placed 16th out of 162 golfers at the Eastern Amateur after shooting 64-70-70-74 at the Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club in Portsmouth, Va.

Vinal held down a 76.7 scoring average and collected five top-10 tournament finishes in his sophomore season. He placed second at the Rhode Island Invitational (74-75) and was eighth at the Yale Spring Opener.

Binghamton golf has advanced to the NCAA East Regional in three of the last five years.