Mississippi State
Kentucky
Bulldogs Win Against Wildcats, Third Round Paused At SEC Match Play
October 11, 2021 | Men's Golf
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Mississippi State men's golf team gained a win in the consolation bracket of the SEC Match Play with a 3-2 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. The Bulldogs third match of the event against the Auburn Tigers was paused due to darkness and will resume play tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. CT at Shoal Creek Golf Club in Birmingham, Alabama.
"I am proud of our guys for earning a tough point against Kentucky this morning," head coach Dusty Smith said. "We were able to execute our shots late in the match to secure the win."Â
In the Bulldogs' match against the Wildcats, freshman Jay Nimmo, sophomore Pedro Cruz Silva and junior Hunter Logan gained the three-point victory for State.
Nimmo started off the round hot, winning four of the first five holes. At the turn, Nimmo was leading 3-up. Kentucky's Campbell Kremer won Hole 11 to try to get within striking distance, but Nimmo responded with a win on Hole 12 and remained consistent on his way to a 3-and-2 victory.Â
Cruz Silva had a hard-fought battle with Kentucky's Hugo Archer to gain his win. Cruz Silva went into the break 1-up with three holes won. Cruz Silva won Hole 10 to go 2-up before Archer responded with wins on Holes 11 and 13 to tie the match. Cruz Silva answered with two consecutive wins on Holes 15 and 16 to earn his 2-and-1 triumph.
Logan had another successful day on the course and led his entire match. He won four holes before the turn where he sat 2-up. He then won three more holes on the back nine to win 5-and-3 over Kentucky's Jacob Cook.Â
Sophomore Loïc Ettlin came back from 2-down in the break to tie the match at Hole 13. He then battled with Kentucky's Zach Norris over the next three holes but fell with a bogey on Hole 16 to give Norris the 1-up win. Senior Ford Clegg's match ended at 3-and-2 against Kentucky's Cooper Parks.
Following the win against Kentucky, Mississippi State went on to face the Auburn Tigers before some of the final holes were postponed by darkness. Before the sun set, Auburn gained two points against Mississippi State with a 6-and-4 win over Nimmo and a 5-and-4 win over Ettlin.Â
The remaining Bulldogs still have holes left to play. With the match beginning on Hole 10, Cruz Silva tied his match on the No. 2 tee after being 2-down, but Auburn's JM Butler responded with two wins. Cruz Silva is 2-down with two holes to play tomorrow morning.Â
Logan's match remained all square through four holes to before Logan took the lead on the 14th tee. Auburn's CJ Easley countered by collecting three holes to go 1-up. Logan is 1-down with three holes to play.
Clegg has been battling with Auburn's Austin Coggin and is all square with three holes to play. He started the match 1-up but Coggin took a 2-up lead at the turn. Clegg won Holes 5 and 6 to get him back into striking distance for tomorrow's play.Â
"This afternoon our guys have really been battling," Smith continued. "We have a chance in the morning to get some momentum and see what happens against Auburn. This is match play, it's not over until you run out of holes."
After the Bulldogs' match with Auburn concludes, Mississippi State will take on the Missouri Tigers at approximately 9:10 a.m. to complete their final round of the SEC Match Play.
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