READING, Pa. – For the third consecutive season men's golf has won the Yocum Cup over Alvernia. The team wrapped up the competition by earning nine points across the 10 singles matches played today. Albright won the Yocum Cup by having 12.5 points to Alvernia's 1.5 points.
For the third straight season the Yocum Cup trophy will be proudly displayed on the campus of Albright College. In the last three Yocum Cup competitions Albright has outscored Alvernia 27 to five to stake claim as the top team in Reading.
The competition was modified this year, adding more matches across the two days of competition. In previous seasons a total of nine points were available to be had. This season the total points available were raised to 14. Today's round was hosted by Albright and held at Reading Country Club.
Heading into today Albright held a 3.5 to .5 lead after winning three of the four fourball matches played on Monday (Oct. 27). To retain the trophy, Albright needed to earn 3.5 points across the 10 singles matches played today. Albright served as the hosts for the singles matches playing at Reading Country Club.
Coach Lamm on the teams Yocum Cup, "It was really great to watch our players perform so well under the intense competition of The Yocum Cup. We are dedicated to continuously improving and all the hard work and desire to getting better in all facets of the game certainly paid off on Monday and Today! I am thrilled to be bringing the Yocum Cup back to Albright!"
"Alvernia deserves all the respect in the world for how they competed. Tom O'Connell's (Alvernia head coach) team is nothing but respectful out on the course and it is always a pleasure to compete against them. Not every team gets to compete in a Ryder Cup style match, and it is a testament to both teams bringing passion to the event to make it such a special event." Said, Coach Lamm.
Sam Elsen was the first Lion to tee it up today setting the tone early for the team. Elsen won the first three holes to go 3UP. By the time the front nine concluded Elsen found himself 6UP in complete control of the match. The senior Lion is a veteran of the Yocum Cup and proved that today winning his match 8&7.
Jason DiRita who made his Yocum Cup debut this afternoon picked up the second singles match win of the day for Albright. Through the first four holes, DiRita's lead grew to 3UP. Matt Davies from Alvernia would take holes five and six to trim DiRita's lead to 1UP. From the seventh to 15
th holes, DiRita did not drop a single hole along the way ultimately closing out the match 5&3.
Ashton McKechan started strong to go 3UP through the first three holes played. Throughout the match McKechan either won or halved every hole played. The first-year Lion saw his lead grow to 7UP by the 12
th hole closing out the match to put Albright on the cusp of winning the Yocum Cup.
Evan Twyman secured the team win for the Lions with an 8&6 victory. Twyman's team point put Albright at 7.5 total team points which was the number needed to win. The first seven holes of the afternoon all went to Twyman who had his best game working. The stretch included four birdies. Twyman closed out the match on the 12
th hole with a par.
Filip Hjerten found himself down early in the match. Alvernia's Jakob Chapman won the first two holes to go 2UP. Hjerten responded quickly and then some. The sophomore tied the match on the sixth hole and from there would go on to win the next four of five holes to increase his lead to 3UP. Hjerten closed out the match on the 16
th hole to win 3&2.
Jonatan Liljeblad dropped the first hole of the match; however, the lead would be short lived for Alvernia. Liljebald responded by winning five total holes through the front nine to go 4UP heading into the back nine. After Alvernia's Chase Smith cut the deficit to 3UP in favor of Liljeblad, the junior Lion would halve holes 14 and 15 to win the match 4&3.
August Fredrik Alhanko started as best as you could, winning the first four holes to quickly go 4UP. His Alvernia counterpart would battle back through the middle portion of the round keeping the match close. Matt Overholt found himself trailing Alhanko by one with hole number 18 still to play. In the end, Alhanko would halve hole 18 to win the match 1UP.
Federico Cobos Kallmann played in one of the most exciting singles matches of the day. Kallmann never trailed throughout the match. Alvernia's Zach Neuin made the match all square after winning holes 10 and 11. Holes 15 and 16 went to Kallmann to put himself in the driver's seat at 2UP with two holes to play. The sophomore Lion birdied the par five 17
th hole to close out the match winning 3&1.
Nontaphat Veeratecha was down early in his match but as many Lions did before him was able to climb back into the match. Veeratecha trailed by as many as two holes through the front nine but when the front nine was over, Veeratecha was leading 1UP. Shawn Williams (ALV) tied the match back up on the 14
th hole. With four holes to play, Veeratecha took over winning holes 15 and 16 and halved hole 17 to win the match 2&1.
Charles Bailey was featured as one of the 10 Lions in today's lineup. Bailey found himself down by as many as five holes but did not go down without a fight. He would cut his deficit to only down three holes with nine to play. In the end, Alvernia's Matt Gagliardi lead proved to be too much to overcome as he won the match 4&3.
Singles Matches Results:
#1 |
Sam Elsen def Brock Mueller (ALV) 8&7
#2 |
Jason DiRita def Matt Davies (ALV) 5&3
#3 |
Ashton McKechan def Kenton Lightburn (ALV) 7&6
#4 |
Filip Hjerten def Jakob Chapman (ALV) 3&2
#5 | Matt Gagliardi (ALV) def
Charles Bailey 4&3
#6 |
August Fredrik Alhanko def Matt Overholt (ALV) 1UP
#7 |
Evan Twyman def Jake DeWitt (ALV) 8&6
#8 |
Jonatan Liljeblad def Chase Smith (ALV) 4&3
#9 |
Federico Cobos Kallmann def Zach Neuin (ALV) 3&1
#10 |
Nontaphat Veeratecha def Shawn Williams (ALV) 2&1
Final Team Scores:
Albright – 12.5
Alvernia – 1.5
Up Next:
Today's final day of the Yocum Cup concluded the 2025 fall season for the Lions. The team will resume competition after winter break in the spring of 2026.
