BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – The Alabama State men's and women's golf programs took a trip to the Birmingham Country Club in Michigan, competing in the Motor City Matchup, hosted by Central Michigan University, this past Monday and Tuesday.

Two days of match play competition took place in the Wolverine State, with the Hornets matching up against the hosting Chippewas on Monday and spending Tuesday competing against Detroit Mercy. In match play competition, teams and its players are matched up with each other, with individuals competing to see who can claim a better score on each hole. Equal scores result in no advantage either way, while the lower of the two scores on a given hole is awarded a point for every hole. Head-to-head contests can be halted before the 18th and final hole if one side has more holes won than holes remaining.

Monday's round against Central Michigan saw one ASU golfer from both the men's and women's side claim head-to-head wins in the 10-2 loss. Alberto Banos tied things up with Aydan Downer, matching the 6-4 CMU edge with a 5-3 advantage to negate the 1-up mark after the first hole. Banos secured wins on the third, sixth and seventh holes, while Downer's wins on holes 5 and 7 left Banos 1-up after the first half. The back half didn't see much separation, but a win on hole 17 gave Banos a 2&1 victory.

The other winner for Bama State was freshman Cadence Nance, who dominated the back half with a four-hole advantage, erasing two holes won by Rachel Niskanen for a straight, 2-up victory.

The day also saw Brady Toupin and Zoey Stern fall short by one hole, while Telmo Sueiro lost by two holes and Lucia Ibanez Parada fell two holes short in a 2&1 loss.

Tuesday's competition saw Stern and Wesley Bairros take control of their respective matches early on against Detroit Mercy, as the tandem was 2-up and 3-up, respectively, after both opening up on the back nine. Christiana Marcellus came on strong to win three of the last four holes after winning four in her first nine, giving the team a 3&2 win in the fourth finishing group of the afternoon.

Stern extended her lead heading into the afternoon, finishing the day with identical 3-1 halves for a 4&2 winning result. Bairros slipped back to tie things with two holes remaining, and his Detroit Mercy counterpart and he each won one of the final two to finish with a tie, leaving the Titans with a 9.5-2.5 victory.

The Lady Hornets finish out the month of October at the Hattiesburg Country Club, where it will compete in The Judson, hosted by Southern Miss, on Monday, Oct. 26 and Tuesday, Oct. 27. The teams will come back together for an early November contest in Birmingham, Ala., at the Oxmoor Valley – Ridge Course, where the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) will host its Fall Invitational on Monday, Nov. 9 and Tuesday, Nov. 10.

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MOTOR CITY MATCHUP
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12 - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2026 | BIRMINGHAM, MICH. | BIRMINGHAM COUNTRY CLUB

TEAM RANKING: 4th (4.50)
Bold + Italic: Alabama State points

ROUND 1 (MONDAY): CENTRAL MICHIGAN 10, ALABAMA STATE 2
Phillippe Yturralde (CMU) over Wesley Bairros (ASU), 3&2
Mya Morgan (CMU) over Zoey Stern (ASU), 1 up
Alberto Banos (ASU) over Aydan Downer (CMU), 2&1
Elise Fennell (CMU) over Jennifer Cho (ASU), 6&5
Edouard Laflamme (CMU) over Telmo Sueiro (ASU), 2 up
Cadence Nance (ASU) over Rachel Niskanen (CMU), 2 up
Benjamin Shin (CMU) over Narabodin Swaengdee (ASU), 3&1
Lexi Schulman (CMU) over Jade Scott (ASU), 5&3
Awesome Burnett (CMU) over Osiregbeme Egbakhumeh (ASU), 6&5
Zoe Dull (CMU) over Christiana Marcellus (ASU), 4&3
Dimitri Protopapas (CMU) over Brady Toupin (ASU), 1 up
Thornatcha Pantepin (CMU) over Lucia Ibanez Parada (ASU), 2&1

ROUND 2 (TUESDAY): DETROIT MERCY 9.5, ALABAMA STATE 2.5
Ethan Oblak (UMD) over Brady Toupin (ASU), 5&4
Chloe Fong (UMD) over Lucia Ibanez Parada (ASU), 4&3
Harshan Juttu (UMD) over Osiregbeme Egbakhumeh (ASU), 4&2
Christiana Marcellus (ASU) over Kassandra Rombotus (UMD), 3&2
Dave Swab (UMD) over Narabodin Swaengdee (ASU), 2&1
Sadie Kondel (UMD) over Jade Scott (ASU), 2&1
Mason Sokolowski (UMD) over Telmo Sueiro (ASU), 3&2
Gabriella Tapp (UMD) over Cadence Nance (ASU), 6&5
Peyton Lawley (UMD) over Alberto Banos (ASU), 3&2
Morgan Jones (UMD) over Jennifer Cho (ASU), 3&2
Christian Helzer (UMD) tied Wesley Bairros (ASU), 6-6
Zoey Stern (ASU) over Ava Wisinski (UMD), 4&2