Surprises seen as PNGA Junior Boys’ and Girls’ match play continues; quarterfinals set
Nampa, Idaho – After the first day of match play at the 70th PNGA Junior Boys’ and 69th Junior Girls’ Amateur Championships,16 players remain, comprised of eight each in the Boys’ and Girls’. The event is taking place this week at RedHawk Golf Course in Nampa, Idaho.
Matches in the Boys’ Rounds of 32 and 16, as well as in the Girls’ Round of 16, were contested on Wednesday, August 13.
Championship Links:
Junior Boys’:
Junior Girls’:
The busy day for the Boys’ championship began with co-medalists Reid Piron and Cade McVicker continuing their solid play early, with the former besting Alex Yang (Portland, Ore.) 1-up and the latter winning, 3 & 2, over Ethan Yang (Sammamish, Wash.).
As the dust settled throughout the Boys’ rounds of 32 and 16, Aidan Szentanai (Boise) found himself as a quarterfinalist, which he achieved by taking out two top-10 seeds. Szentanai took an early lead in the morning against No. 8 Benjamin Barrett, and never lost it en route to a 3 & 2 win. He met fellow Boisean (and top seed) Piron in the round of 16, and while not opening up a huge lead, he never trailed and defeated Piron, 2 & 1.
McVicker remained in the hunt, following his early morning win with a 2 & 1 triumph over Bryce Grieb (Bend, Ore.) in the round of 16. McVicker was 3-up at the turn, and gave one back to Grieb, but stayed where he needed to be and is one of the final eight as a result.
No. 29 seed Calvin Cakarnis (Issaquah, Wash.) managed a win against No. 4 seed Carson Krauss in the round of 32. A closely contested bout, the match saw Cakarnis rally to erase a 2-down deficit and tie the match at the 18th hole, setting up a playoff he’d win on the 21st. Drawing Brayden Johnson (Meridian, Idaho) in the round of 16, Cakarnis again found himself 2-down, this time by the end of the fifth hole, but assumed control, won six holes and took the match, 4 & 3.
In the round of 16 matches of the Junior Girls’ Championship, top-seeded Madeleine Conser (Portland, Ore.) had an efficient morning, taking a 7-up win over hometown player Hallie Wheeler (Nampa). Having taken a 5-up lead by the end of her first nine, Conser clinched the 7 & 5 triumph with a birdie on the 13th hole.
Defending PNGA Girls’ Amateur Champion Amy Seung Hyun Lee (Langley, B.C.) also had a strong match, taking down Anna Fenhaus (Billings, Mont.) 7 & 6. Like Conser, Lee entered her second nine 5-up, and the match was eventually decided by the 12th hole’s end.
A close match was shared between Ira Upadhyay (Issaquah, Wash.) and Ellyce Simmons (Kimberly, Idaho). Going back and forth, Simmons made the turn 1-up. Upadhyay responded with a strong second side to take a 1-up lead herself going into the 18th hole, where Simmons re-tied the match and sent it to extra holes. On the 19th hole, a birdie from Upadhyay allowed her to advance to the quarterfinal.
Junior Boys’ Quarterfinal matchups
- (2) Cade McVicker (West Linn, Ore.) vs (5) Guanho Lu (Sherwood, Ore.)
- (21) Connor Holden (Canby, Ore.) vs (29) Calvin Cakarnis (Issaquah, Wash.)
- (17) Aidan Szentanai (Boise, Idaho) vs (25) Lucas Williams (Seattle)
- (11) Eden Kim (Coquitlam, B.C.) vs (14) Andy Metzler (Boise)
Junior Girls’ Quarterfinal matchups
- (1) Madeleine Conser vs (8) Nadalie Cannell (Hermiston, Ore.)
- (4) Amy Seung Hyun Lee vs (5) Melia Cerenzia (Spokane, Wash.)
- (2) Ella Wilson (Hayden, Idaho) vs (7) Cara Carter (Eagle, Idaho)
- (3) Tatum Otto (Bellevue, Wash.) vs (6) Ira Upadhyay (Issaquah, Wash.)
