Kulwin Leads Loyola to Third at Match Play Event

Loyola men’s golf teed off their 2025 spring season in warm weather as they headed down to Dade City, Fla. for the Match Play Event hosted by Ball State University Feb. 10-11.

The invitational’s format didn’t follow the typical three rounds, 54-hole structure — instead consisting of three matches where Loyola’s six golfers faced off one-on-one against their opponents, and the team with the most holes won over play wins.

Third-years Ryan Walsh, Charlie Kulwin, Dori Lee and Sebastian Kasun were joined by redshirt third-year Zach Mulhearn and first-year Clay Heilman.

Seeded fourth out of eight schools, Loyola first faced Bowling Green State University Friday. The first matchup was Walsh versus fourth-year Darin Hudak, where Walsh finished two under par and beat Hudak by a hole for the first win.

Kulwin was next up versus graduate Evan Johnson. Kulwin won the match with three pars and a birdie to finish two shots under.

Lee — facing fourth-year Luke Evans — lost the lead from the start with a bogey on hole one and wasn’t able to even it up. His struggles continued as he never shot a birdie during the round and hit five bogeys, finishing five shots over par and losing to Evans by a hole.

Kasun faced off against fourth-year Zander Gibson and dominated the round. Kasun never fell behind Gibson, winning five holes in the back-nine — his final point difference — and shot one over par on the round.

Mulhearn followed and teed off with first-year Andrew Lee, where he handled business, scoring four birdies through the round and closing the match one under par and three holes up on Lee. 

Heilman, last to compete versus third-year Ethan Irvine, found himself down after the third hole. He bounced back with a dominant back-nine performance, winning five holes and finishing one under par, taking the match by two holes, as Loyola defeated Bowling Green 5-1.

Next the Ramblers faced number one seeded University of Richmond, who also had a win after the first round. Walsh faced off against fourth-year Cole Ekert, shooting two over par compared to Ekert’s four under with six birdies. Ekert clinched the matchup in just 15 holes.

Coming off his first-round victory, Kulwin faced first-year Carson Baez. He got off to a hot start — hitting birdies on the first three holes — and didn’t look back, leading by as many as four holes and capturing the win with two under par and one hole better than Baez.

Lee faced fourth-year Patrick Isztwan in the third matchup of the round. Lee recorded his first eagle on the day in his ninth hole, putting him up one hole. The back-nine was rough for him as he lost two rounds and drew the remaining seven. He’d lose the match by one hole, finishing two under par. 

Kasun took on third-year Drew Carlin in the fourth matchup, winning the first two holes and hitting six birdies in 16 holes. Kasun led by as many as four holes and closed his stretch by three as he shot four under par. 

Loyola headed into the fifth round tied two apiece with the Spiders. Mulhearn faced off next against second-year Quin Polin. The pair remained neck-and-neck until Polin went up one before they drew every hole after the seventh, beating Mulhearn by five holes, who finished even with par.

Heilman was Loyola’s final golfer with the opportunity to rescue a draw and faced off against second-year Jack LaPiana. Despite an eagle and finishing two under par, Heilman only won four of the 18 holes, while LaPiana’s single hole advantage earned Richmond a 4-2 victory.

For their last round of the invitational on Saturday, Loyola faced off against three-seeded University of Dayton with third place accolades in play. Walsh kicked off the match facing second-year Breckin Taylor and captured five holes from five birdies in the final nine holes, as he finished even with par and two holes up on Taylor.

Kulwin faced third-year Victor Caliguri for the second match, dominating with eight rounds as the match only went to 13 holes. Kulwin’s seven-hole lead resulted in a two under par finish and a lead for the match. 

Following behind him was Lee, who faced fourth-year Ben Cors but couldn’t catch up after falling behind on the first hole. Cors hit four under in 16 holes to beat Lee by three holes, and finished even with par.

The fourth match had Kasun against  third-year Jacob Garland, and the two swapped winning holes until Kasun won four of five holes in the back-nine. He won by two holes in 17 as he finished even with par.

Up 3-2, Mulhearn faced fourth-year Colin O’Rourke looking to seal third for the Ramblers, and, despite finishing two over par, wrapped up the match in only 15 holes, winning by four holes. 

Heilman finished the event against first-year Luke Kahle, but struggled and hit six bogeys and one birdie to finish five over par, losing by four holes.

Loyola returns next month when they head to Southern Pines, NC for the Babygrande Ross Collegiate Classic hosted by George Mason University Mar. 10-11.