Electric Finishes
Electric Finishes
2024 College Disc Golf National Championship — Final Recap
UNC Charlotte celebrates at the 2024 College Disc Golf National Championship. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA
It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.
UNC Charlotte — the No. 1 seed coming into the 2024 College Disc Golf National Championship — stumbled out of the gate on Championship Saturday but rallied and — after an incredibly clutch putt — left Rock Hill, South Carolina on top of the College Disc Golf World.
UNCC's Glenn Fister runs down a huge putt on hole 18. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA
UNCC’s Glenn Fister connected on a 50-foot-plus putt on the 18th for an eagle to force a playoff with Cincinnati, the defending champions who were aiming for a comeback win for the second-straight year. On the third hole — the infamous “Beach” hole of USDGC fame — UNC Charlotte clutched up again with a C1 hit while the Bearcats’ attempts from C2 both hit low.
Full Coverage of the 2024 CDGNC »
Along with Fister, Tom Shanley, Owen Rice and Jack Lang then celebrated in a big way for the second time in a 20-minute span, this time as the new Men’s Division I national champion.
Men's Division I Champion: UNC Charlotte. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA
UNC Charlotte entered the day with a four-stroke lead but that was erased quickly after a plus-2 scorecard through the first six holes. Their in-state foe, NC State, meanwhile, went 4-under through that same stretch. A card ahead, Cincinnati entered the mix quickly with a solid start and a 9-under round — one off Mississippi State’s hot round of the day — to finish with the clubhouse lead and the wait was on.
Cincinnati's Tanner Young lines up a putt on Saturday in Rock Hill. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA
Facing a do-or-die eagle putt, Fister rang it up from distance and the College Disc Golf National Championship headed to extra time.
NC State finished in solo third place ahead of Ferris State and Emporia State.
Liberty's Maggie Presley and Julia Dimartino. Photos: Justin Anderson / PDGA
For Liberty University’s Julia Dimartino and Maggie Presley, it was just a matter of finishing what they started.
The duo, who returned after a third-place finish in 2023, led wire-to-wire this week in South Carolina to capture the Women’s Division I team title.
On Saturday, the pressure was on though.
Entering with a three-stroke lead, a strong round from Clemson’s Missoury Wolff and Noelle Erb trimmed the deficit down to two after a bogey from Liberty on 13. Dimartino and Presley responded with clean play on 14, 15 and 16 and added a big birdie on 17.
Clemson's Noelle Erb and NC State's Genesis Beck. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA
Clemson closed with a birdie on 18 for solo second, three ahead of Emporia State’s Atlanta Krueger and Maya Ringgold. Milligan’s Lily Marr and Grace Sanderson, with a 9-under round, finished solo fourth. NC State’s Morgan Budzynski and Genesis Beck had a scorching 12-under round to climb to solo fifth place.
In Division II, the University of North Carolina used an ace for a scorching 14-under round and then topped the University of Dayton on the first hole of a playoff to claim the championship.
UNC Charlotte’s B Team finished third along with Iowa State, just one stroke from joining the playoff. The top 10 teams in Division II were separated by four strokes.
Liberty’s D3.2 team finished with a big win over NC State’s C Team in Division III. UNC Charlotte made is a podium sweep across all three divisions with a solo third finish.
This story will be updated
Final Standings
Team Standings & Scores
Singles Standings & Scores
Video Coverage
Gatekeeper Media and Ace Run Pro will be on hand covering all of the DI action all week. Post-production coverage will be posted daily on the PDGA's YouTube channel.