Gavin Hall, team U.S. win Jr. Ryder Cup
By: John Kucko
Updated: September 26, 2012
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. -- UCLA-bound Gavin Hall of Pittsford Mendon made a contribution by gaining a point and Casie Cathrea, Karen Chung and Esther Lee also led the United States to its third straight Junior Ryder Cup victory, winning singles matches Tuesday to finish undefeated in the 14-9 win over Europe.
The 16-year-old Cathrea, from Livermore, Calif., beat Denmark's Emily Pedersen 2 up at Olympia Fields. The 17-year-old Chung, from Livingston, N.J., topped Germany's Quirine Eijkenboom 4 and 2, and the 17-year-old Lee, from Los Alamitos, Calif., edged England's Bronte Law 1 up. The three Americans were each 2-0 on Monday in foursomes and mixed fourballs.
"It's exciting to know that I was able to close out my first Junior Ryder Cup with three points and winning all three matches," Cathrea said. "This whole experience has been incredible and it's not over yet. We still get to play Medinah tomorrow and that should be great, too."
The teams will play a "Friendship Match" on Wednesday at Medinah, the site of the Ryder Cup matches Friday-Sunday.
Casey Danielson of Osceola, Wis., and Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., also won in singles, with Lee securing the deciding point with a 6-and-5 victory over Sweden's Linnea Strom.
"I had to come out this morning and finish my four-ball match, so that helped me warm up a bit," Alison Lee said. "I felt really comfortable all day and to make that clinching point was so awesome. It feels great to know that I helped the team."
Robby Shelton of Wilmer, Ala., and Pittsford's Gavin Hall, scored full points in singles for the U.S. boys, and Cameron Champ of Sacramento, Calif., earned a half point.
Overall, the six U.S. girls were 5-1 in singles and 3-0 in foursomes, while the U.S. boys earned 2 points in six singles matches after scoring only a half-point in three foursomes. In the mixed fourballs, the Americans were 3-2.
The United States leads the series 4-3-1.
