VUU Claims The Inaugural River City Collegiate Classic

By Press release submission

Nov 4, 2022

Virginia Union claimed the inaugural River City Collegiate Classic presented by Truist, holding off Livingstone College by 10 strokes at historic Belmont Golf Course on Tuesday. The Panthers were led by medalist Alkin Barkley, who finished four shots clear of the field at 3-over par total. After playing the same yardages and layout as the PGA TOUR Champions did during the Dominion Energy Charity Classic at the Country Club of Virginia in Monday's first round, competitors tackled the restored Belmont layout on Tuesday. In 2021, Belmont was reopened after a restoration and reimagination brought back 10 of the original 12 greens complexes to A.W. Tillinghast's 1917 design. Student-athletes competed on holes 1-12 of the championship course, with holes 1-6 replayed to build a 6,865-yard, par-72 course.

Barkley paced Virginia Union, posting a 3-over par 75 in the final round. After an even-par 72 at CCV put him atop the leaderboard by four shots, Barkley was in control of the leaderboard throughout the day. The graduate student picked up key birdies on the 9th and 12th holes before his fourth birdie of the day came on the par-5 16th, allowing him to cruise to a 4-shot win over teammate Hayden Garcia.

Garcia matched Barkley's 75, as the duo tied with Livingstone College's Christopher Baguma for low round of the day. Led by Barkley (72-75) and Garcia (76-75), VUU was eight shots better than Livingstone on the day, enabling the Panthers (316-310 – 626) to sit 10 shots clear of the Blue Bears (318-318 – 636) for the tournament.

Other VUU team scoring was followed by Grad Student Ahmad Reedus tied for sixth with a score of 163 (82-81), Senior Travon Willis (90/79) and Senior Zacchaeus Spann (86/83) both tied for sixteenth. Three Panthers finished in the top 10 of the field. In addition to medalist honors, Barkley collected All-Tournament Team accolades alongside teammate Hayden Garcia.

The team title was the first of the fall season for Virginia Union. All seven programs at the inaugural River City Collegiate Classic represented historically black colleges and universities from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). The tournament came together as a partnership between First Tee – Greater Richmond, the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, and the Country Club of Virginia.

"This was another first and another tremendous experience for the VUU Golf Team," said VUU Head Golf Coach E. Lee Coble. "The River City Collegiate Classic was an inaugural event and with continued support Truist, Dominion Energy Charity Classic, The Country Club of Virginia and the Greater Richmond first Tee it will continue. With the help of Assistant Coach Sean Bowers, the team responded, and we captured our first Fall Season win over our arch conference rival Livingstone College by 10 shots. We are immensely proud of the way the guys persevered to the end and we continue to be immensely proud of the accomplishments of our VUU Golf Team on and off the golf course".

Team Results

Schools R1 R2 Total

Virginia Union Univ 316 310 626

Livingstone College 318 318 636

Virginia State Univ 333 337 670

Winston-Salem State Univ 345 326 671

Johnson C Smith Univ 325 357 682

Elizabeth City State Univ 325 357 682

Saint Augustine's Univ 416 414 830

2022 River City Collegiate Classic presented by Truist All-Tournament Team

Christopher Baguma, Livingstone College

Alkin Barkley, Virginia Union (medalist)