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USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
If the shoe fits: Jimmy Abdo, ranked 4,292 in WAGR, continuing Cinderella run at U.S. Amateur
THE JIMMY ABDO SHOW CONTINUES 🔥The DIII golfer representing @GustieGolf will play in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur. SAN FRANCISCO — Jimmy Abdo thought his putt needed to sit. He really didn't want to have to hit a second putt. His approach into the final hole landed on the front right side of the putting surface. The flag was front left. The green sloped toward the front, meaning his ball would swing from right to left. He raised his putter about a foot from the hole. There was no doubt. Abdo drilled his birdie attempt on the closing 18th hole to win his Round of 16 match 1 up. A celebration ensued. Abdo, the Division III golfer at Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minnesota, who's ranked 4,292 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, continued his run in the 2025 U.S. Amateur, knocking off Daniel Svard to advance into the quarterfinals. He's not the most popular golfer this week at The Olympic Club. Nor is he ranked the highest. Nor could any of the other seven quarterfinalists point on a map where Gustavus Adolphus is. But the shoe continues to fit for Abdo, and his Cinderella run in the biggest amateur event in the world marches on for one more day. "Being the underdog, I feel like there's way less pressure on me to perform well," Abdo said. "I feel like I can go out there and play pretty free. That's what we did for most of the holes out there." Embracing that underdog role is the reason he was able to even make it into the U.S. Amateur in the first place. He first started playing golf when he was about 3 years old. But even into high school, he wasn't starting during his sophomore year. Things quickly turned when he was a junior. He started working with instructor Luke Benoit. His scoring averaged dropped from from 77 to about 70. His high school team at Edina won the state championship. "From sophomore to junior year, I gained 60 yards off the tee," he said. "It's just kind of all those things you learn as you keep going. Keep building and grow your team and grow the people around you." Even as the game grew, the offers didn't come. He eventually chose Gustavas Adolphus for his first year of college, living in the school's practice facility. Last season, he had one win and a 73.7 scoring average in nine stroke-play starts. He even was named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's Rookie of the Year. He decided to enter the portal this summer, trying to get a chance at a Division I program. That's when he qualified for the U.S. Amateur via a 4-for-2 playoff. He thought that would entice some schools to take a chance on him. No one called. The chip on his shoulder grew. "This is my first time trying to qualify for the U.S. Am," he said. "I never felt like I was ready. Coming out of high school, I was never really recruited at all. That kind of adds into this underdog story where no one really believes I'm capable of playing good golf like this. I know I am, and I've had that confidence even when I was in high school." He decided to withdraw his name from the portal. This week, he birdied three of his final six holes during stroke play and then advanced via a 20-for-17 playoff to get into match play. In the opening round, he knocked off top 2025 recruit Logan Reilly, an incoming freshman at Auburn, and he became a quick fan favorite. Support from his home club back home was vibrating through social media, and Abdo felt that presence with him. "When you're playing golf out there, especially in a twosome, you kind of feel alone," Abdo said. "It's just you and your playing partner. Knowing I've got hundreds of people and they're backing me, it kind of takes away that lonely feeling of golf. It's just kind of nice to know that I've got a team around me that wants to see me do well as much as I want to see me do well." Then came Thursday, when he had a convincing 4-and-3 win against Wolfgang Glawe in the morning before taking his afternoon match with a birdie at the last. He gave a big fist pump before celebrating with his caddie. But Thursday's marathon was complete. Abdo is one of eight standing at The Olympic Club. "Never back down from anybody," Abdo said. "Ready to play against anybody. I'm not even sure who I have tomorrow, but I'm ready to put up a fight against whoever it is." The dance is still going and will be into Friday.
USA Today
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Wisconsin-Whitewater wins DIII title by turning College World Series field into paste
Wisconsin-Whitewater wins DIII title by turning College World Series field into paste It's been a remarkable year for lower-level college baseball powerhouses. Last week, LSU-Shreveport capped off a historic 59-0 season with an NAIA championship. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wasn't quite as dominant at the Division III level. Until it mattered most. The Warhawks, perhaps better known for their football dynasty in the late 2000s and early 2010s, ran absolute roughshod over the competition at the Division III College World Series. UW-Whitewater's 21-5 win over Messiah University Wednesday afternoon -- an extremely Division III time to hold a national title game -- capped off a furious run through the eight-team field. The Warhawks scored a World Series record 74 runs in five games. Their opponents? 19. That's right, Wisconsin-Whitewater's title run was so ridiculous it outscored the Division III College World Series runner-up Messiah -- another scorching-hot team -- 39-8 in two games. The Warhawks' third national championship scattered a pile of wreckage in its wake. After taking a deciding game three in Super Regional action against WIAC rival Wisconsin-Oshkosh 10-0, Whitewater could barely be contained in Eastlake, Ohio. Their World Series opener against Trinity University was marred by cold weather and suspended mid-game. That 7-3 victory was as close as any opponent would get. Wins by the count of 11-4, 17-4 and 18-3 paved the way for Wednesday's beatdown. Every regular starter in the lineup finished with at least one RBI in the title clinching game and at least three on the week. While that wasn't enough to outpace the entire DIII College World Series field, meant the Warhawks generated more than 35 percent of the total runs from the eight-team bracket (74 of 211). They scored 30 more runs than the only other team to play five games in Ohio this year. This was a loss for fans of competitive baseball, but a wonderful outcome for everyone who likes watching missiles rocket off aluminum bats in front of a rapt crowd of dozens during a work day.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Denver Highlanders advance to final four in rugby national championships
After their win against the South Pittsburgh Hooligans, the Denver Highlanders are advancing to the final four in the DIII USA Club Rugby XVs National Championships. CBS Colorado caught up with Derek Smith and the rest of the team at practice this week as they prepare to face off against the Scottsdale Blues Saturday at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis. CBS "Once we won the championship for Rocky Mountain Rugby, I was like [exhale] 'There's a chance,'" said Smith. "I didn't work this hard just to get second." He said there are a lot of great teams in Colorado, but the Highlanders' mix of younger and more experienced players has been doing particularly well this season. Smith himself is a seasoned rugby player. "I played football in high school. I played football at a small college," said Smith. "But then I found the sport of rugby, [and] I'm like, 'Oh, I can still hit people, and legally, and don't have to play American football anymore? I can just play rugby? All I need's a mouthpiece? That's great!'" CBS There are a lot of reasons he loves the game. Smith said rugby combines the continuity of soccer with the contact of American football. American football and rugby have more in common than some might realize. Smith explained, "So, historically, the reason it's called a touchdown in football [is], in rugby, you have to touch the ball down to score a 'try.'" A try is scored when the ball is grounded in the opposition's in-goal area. Another thing Smith loves is the respect the players have for each other. He said, "The most respect, typically, [is given] to the referees. We don't talk back. We say 'thank you, yes sir, no sir,' and that's what I love about it. It's the idea of respect for us and the other people playing the sport. Because we pay money to beat each other up." CBS After certain infringements, or when the ball is unplayable, players will pack closely together with their heads down in what's called a 'scrum,' attempting to gain possession of the ball. Smith said it's important to have a good 'sir' to keep things safe. "Sometimes the older guys that have been doing it a while, they try to get away with some stuff to be cheeky, if you will. So, you have to have a good 'sir,' or referee, that's really kind of watching that scrum to make sure we keep it up and they keep it safe," he said. "And the scrum. They call it the 'dark arts.' It's one big man hug. So, those guys in the front, the 'props,' they're just trying to push each other back straight," Smith explained. CBS Smith said this may be his last year, and he's been training hard. "I've been training for this, you know, working out in my classroom as a school teacher, and the kids think I'm crazy. I guess I am a little bit," he said with a laugh. "Forty-two years old, two small kids, this is my last go full-time, so I'd love to go out on top." Saturday's game starts at 8:30 a.m. MST and will stream live on the Mid-America Rugby Union YouTube channel. The winner of Saturday's match-up will face the winner of the game between the Columbia Rhinos and the Rocky Gorge on Sunday.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
IWU softball sets program record set in 2nd straight CCIW title win, Titan baseball falls in championship game
BLOOMINGTON, Illinois (WMBD) – Illinois Wesleyan softball senior Ava Khoury set a Titans program record Saturday morning as the team won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament title 4-2 over Augustana. In the bottom of the 2nd, Khoury broke a scoreless tie with a homer to left field. It was the 34th long ball of her career and broke the all-time record for the Titans. Her day wasn't finished either. Khoury broke a 1-1 tie in the 3rd with a base hit which scored Normal U-High grad Jen Kuhn along with Ella Hermes. The win punches the Titans ticket to the DIII national softball tournament for the second straight year. As if they needed extra motivation to advance, IWU will host the DIII World Series later in May. The Titans CCIW tournament title is their second straight, third in the last four years, and 17th overall. Amazing. I knew this team was more than capable of it all season long. So just being able to produce and be there for each other and execute when it matters is just amazing. I'm so excited to see what we do the rest of the season. Jen Kuhn So good. I'm so proud of this team and everything we've accomplished. More to come, but feels very good, especially as a senior. It just feels so good to be here again and having a successful season. My senior year has been really exciting. Ava Khoury It's super special and, you know, I think the experience kind of showed through there and I just thought they did a great job of competing each pitch, staying focused, just continuing to stay in the moment and be with our feeder and just enjoy the ride. Tiffany Prager, Titans head coach IWU will await the selection show Monday to see if they will host a regional. With the campus already hosting the national championship, it is likely the NCAA will award the Titans with a regional. Meanwhile, across the street, Illinois Wesleyan baseball was going for their first CCIW tournament title in 11 years. They came into Saturday needing to win twice against North Central after losing earlier in the week. On the second at-bat of the game for the Titans, Justin Gadomski set a two-run homer to dead center to them up 2-0 early. However, the Cardinals rattled over seven straight runs and held IWU to just one hit over the next several innings. In the 6th, the Titans put together a rally. They pushed across five runs on seven hits to tie the game 7-7, including a two-run single by Jimmy Gurgone. But, North Central answered immediately with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning and the Titans could not recover. They would go on to lose 11-7 with North Central winning the CCIW championship. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UMHB parts ways with Clif Carroll after five seasons
BELTON, Texas (FOX 44) — The Cru have posted a head coaching job vacancy for the men's basketball position after rumors surfaced that former head men's basketball coach Clif Carroll and UMHB would part ways at the end of the 2024-25 season, a university spokesperson confirmed to Fox 44 Sports. Carroll entered the Cru program in 2020, leading UMHB men's basketball to a conference title in 2022 and two appearances in the NCAA tournament, reaching the DIII Quarterfinals in 2022. Carroll departs the program with a 99-34 record in five seasons. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
