Wexford Intercollegiate to bring High Point freshmen to home turf

High Point freshmen R.J. Bartolomucci and Alec Weary will get the chance to compete collegiately in front of Lowcountry family and friends next month when the Wexford Intercollegiate conducts its 12th edition as the spring opener for several teams.

Wofford’s Andrew Novak will defend his individual title at Wexford Plantation, while three-time team champion USC-Aiken also heads the list of 18 squads set to compete Feb. 27-28. Francis Marion again serves as the host school.

Bartolomucci, who helped Hilton Head Christian to three SCISA titles, and Bluffton’s Weary have been regulars in High Point’s lineup since the season’s outset.

Bartolomucci needed just three starts to earn his first top-5 finish, tying for fourth as the Panthers captured the Donald Ross Intercollegiate in October for their first tournament win since 2012. Weary capped his fall schedule with his best finish, placing 28th at the Hummingbird Intercollegiate in Cashiers, N.C.

Novak tied the Wexford Plantation course record with a 6-under-par 66 to claim last year’s victory, using a birdie/birdie finish to separate himself from USC-Aiken’s Johnson Holliday. His three-day total of 13-under 203 also broke a Wofford record for lowest total in relation to par.

Campbell won last year’s team title by 15 shots over Louisville, but neither will be back in 2017.

Akron, Cleveland State, Dayton, Gardner-Webb, Oakland (Mich.), Presbyterian and Radford also will return to Wexford from last year’s event. Rounding out the lineup are Dartmouth, Davidson, Eastern Kentucky, Hartford, Mercer, Siena and Winthrop.

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Wexford Intercollegiate to bring High Point freshmen to home turf."