College Roundup: Belfast’s Kinnear captures pole vault at LSU Relays

DePaul’s Gavin Kennedy placed seventh in the men’s 1,500 meters at the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State. The Waterford senior finished in 3:53.85 in a race won by Albany’s Gered Burns in 3:52.16.

BASKETBALL
Conor Grace’s collegiate career ended as Davidson fell to Maryland, 78-63, in the National Invitation Tournament. The senior from Dublin put Davidson (23-9) up by 9 points when he nailed a 3-pointer with 8:58 left to play in the first half. The Wildcats extended that lead to 16 with just under 4 minutes left in the half, but the Terrapins came roaring back to tie the game at halftime. The game remained close for most of the second half, with Maryland pulling away late on free throws as Davidson forced fouls in an effort to regain the ball. Grace fouled out with 6:06 left. He finished with 3 points and 6 rebounds.

SWIMMING
Kentucky finished fifth in the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay at the NCAA Div. I Championships at the University of Minnesota. Swimming the anchor leg for the Wildcats was Dublin junior Steven Manley. Kentucky came through with a 2:53.70 clocking. Manley’s split of 42.98 was best on the team. California won the event with an NCAA record 2:47.70.

GOLF
Francis Marion junior Aengus McAllister tied for 16th place in the Bobcat Invitational at the Golf Club at Cuscowilla in Eatonton, Ga. The Dubliner finished 5 over par at 145 (74-71), which left him 10 strokes off the medallist, Armstrong Atlantic’s Tripp Coggins. Marion tied for 10th in the 15-team field.
St. Louis University’s Barry O’Neill tied for 40th place in the William & Mary Invitational at the Golden Horseshoe in Williamsburg, Va. The Waterford junior was 13 over par at 157 (77-80) and 13 strokes behind the medallist, Boston College’s Adam Snickenberger. The Billikens shared eighth place in the 18-team field, which was led by Richmond and the host school.
South Alabama took second place in the Homewood Suites Intercollegiate at the Azalea City Golf Club in Mobile, Ala. Freshman Jon Caldwell, from Clandeboye, Co. Down, got a piece of 22nd place at 4-over-par 220 (68-76-76). Farther down the leaderboard came teammates Eamonn Coghlan, a senior from Dublin, who shot 231 (72-78-81) for a share of 60th place, and junior Colm Montgomery, from Malone, Co. Antrim, who tied for 73rd place with his 240 (82-76-82). The low score of 210 belonged to Louisiana Tech’s Joe Busby and Mississippi State’s Joe Deraney. Mississippi State was low team.
Kent State’s Tara Delaney tied for 46th place in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic at the University of Georgia’s course in Athens. Delaney, a freshman from County Carlow, shot 18-over-par 234 (82-75-77) to finish 16 strokes behind the host school’s Kelly Froelich, the champion. Kent’s Karen Delaney, a sophomore and sister of Tara, tied for 89th place at 252 (89-78-85). Kent stood 12th in the 18-team field at the event’s conclusion, with Georgia on top.
College of Charleston’s Brenda McLarnon, a senior from Belfast, tied for 56th place in the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La. McLarnon shot 237 (78-80-79), which was 21 over par and 26 strokes behind the champion, Vanderbilt’s Chris Brady. Charleston finished seventh of 16 teams, with LSU winning the team hardware.

TENNIS
University of Memphis senior Mark Finnegan was named Conference USA Player of the Week last week. The resident of Kill, Co. Kildare, enjoyed wins over Southern Mississippi’s Reid Bourgeois, 7-5, 6-1, and Georgia State’s Matic Sulin, 6-2, 6-2. Both victories came at the fifth position.
Notre Dame’s Barry King came through in the clutch with a victory at third singles over Michigan’s Ryan Heller, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, to help the Fighting Irish to a 5-2 win. King has won four consecutive three-set matches when the team outcome was still undecided. The Dublin junior is 22-7 on the season. He also teamed with Ryan Keckley at second doubles to defeat Heller and Josef Fischer, 9-8 (7-3).
California’s Conor Niland split a pair of matches at first singles against Pac-10 foes. The Limerick junior led the Golden Bears to a 6-1 victory over Oregon, defeating Sven Swinnon, 6-2, 6-3. Niland, ranked 19th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association ratings, then lost to No. 31 Alex Vlaski, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (9), as California was defeated by Washington, 4-3.
North Carolina State’s Conor Taylor finished the week with one win against two losses in singles action. The Dublin senior came through at the first position against Maryland’s Troy Demers, 2-6, 6-4, (10-4), to key a Wolfpack victory, 7-0. Taylor then lost to North Carolina’s Ryan Luchichi, 6-1, 6-0, at first singles, with the Tar Heels edging the Wolfpack, 4-3. State then lost to Virginia, 7-0, with Taylor falling to Rylan Rizza, 6-4, 6-2, at second singles.
San Diego’s Emma Murphy split a pair of singles matches last week, both played in the top spot. The junior from Cork lost to Clemson’s Julie Coin, 6-2, 6-0, although she joined Lauren Perl to down Maria Brito and Rachele LeSaldo, 9-8 (5), at second doubles. Clemson won the match, 7-0. The Toreros then lost to Sacramento State, 4-3, although Murphy came through with a victory over Margarita Karnaukhova, 6-0, 6-3, as well as a doubles win with Perl over Anna Erikson and Klara Petersson, 8-2.