Navy Men’s Golf Stays Within Striking Distance After Four-Ball Matches at Army
Navy men’s golf finished the opening day of the 89th Army-Navy Star Match trailing Army by just one point, 2.5-1.5, after Saturday’s four-ball competition at the West Point Golf Club. The Black Knights won two of the four matches, Navy captured one and the remaining pairing finished all square through 18 holes. That left the Midshipmen with work to do entering Sunday’s seven singles matches, but the Star remained very much within reach.
Navy’s Sebastian Alonzo and freshman Collin Alstrin opened the competition against Army’s William Huang and Grant Paolucci in one of the closest matches of the afternoon. Neither pairing could create enough separation to secure the full point, and the teams finished all square after 18 holes. The result gave each academy one-half point and established the competitive tone for the opening session.
Army moved ahead in the second match when Drew Jeffords and Jack Parel defeated Navy senior Danny Auffant and sophomore Timmy Luckett, 3&2. The Black Knights secured the victory with two holes remaining and took their first outright advantage of the competition. Navy now needed an answer from a young pairing making its Army-Navy Star Match debut.
Freshmen Payton Cowhey and Elijah Estonilo provided exactly that response for the Midshipmen. The Navy duo defeated Army’s Andre Chang and Ryan Lopez, 3&1, according to Navy’s official results, securing a full point and pulling the overall match even. Producing a victory in their first career Star Match was particularly significant for Cowhey and Estonilo considering the pressure surrounding one of the Naval Academy’s biggest annual rivalries.
Army regained the lead during the final four-ball match when Tyson Sparks and Matthew Duke defeated Navy sophomores Hudson Mitchell and Josh Durthaler, 3&2. That victory sent the Black Knights into Sunday with a 2.5-1.5 advantage and ensured Navy would have to outperform Army during singles play to capture the Star. With seven individual points still available, however, the one-point deficit was far from insurmountable.
The weekend represented the third competition in the 2026-27 Army-Navy Star Series, which includes 26 designated Star events during the academic year. Army opened the series with a 21-12 sprint football victory on Sept. 25 before Navy men’s rugby answered with a 26-14 win the following day. That meant men’s golf entered the weekend with the overall Star Series tied at one victory apiece, adding even more importance to the two-day competition.
Navy also entered the matchup as the defending Star Match champion after defeating Army, 6-5, in Annapolis during the 2025 competition. The Midshipmen have enjoyed considerable success against Army across sports in recent years, including winning the overall Star Series in 11 of the previous 12 seasons. Navy went 17-8-1 in Star competitions last year and held a 127-81-5 Star Series advantage over Army during the previous 10 years entering this weekend.
Because the entire weekend has now been completed, Saturday’s one-point deficit became the setup for an impressive Navy comeback. The Midshipmen won five of seven singles matches Sunday to defeat Army 6.5-4.5, capturing their second consecutive golf Star and their first Star Match victory at West Point since 2016. Navy also moved ahead 2-1 in the overall 2026-27 Army-Navy Star Series.
Hudson Mitchell began Navy’s Sunday surge with a dominant 6&5 victory over Huang, while Durthaler defeated Parel 5&4 and Estonilo beat Lopez 2&1. Army eventually pulled even at 4.5-4.5, making the final two matches decisive. Luckett then delivered one of the biggest shots of the weekend, sinking an eagle putt on the 18th hole to defeat Paolucci 2-up and put Navy ahead 5.5-4.5.
Alonzo finished the job by defeating Army captain Jeffords, 3&2, to clinch the Star for Navy. The comeback was especially impressive because Navy entered Sunday trailing and then fell two points behind after Army won the first singles match. Instead of allowing the deficit to grow into a decisive advantage, the Midshipmen responded by winning five of the remaining six matches.
The result also continued Navy’s recent success at West Point Golf Club, where the Midshipmen captured the 2026 Patriot League Championship last spring after overcoming an eight-stroke deficit. Head coach Jimmy Stobs believed that previous experience helped players such as Alonzo and Mitchell become more comfortable with the course during Sunday’s singles competition. Navy has now produced two major comeback victories at West Point in the span of roughly six months.
Navy will return to competition Oct. 13-14 for the Commander-In-Chief’s Cup at Oakmont Country Club, where the Midshipmen will again face Army along with Air Force. Navy won its first outright Commander-In-Chief’s Cup last season, defeating Army by 18 strokes and Air Force by 23 at Winged Foot Golf Club. With another Army-Navy Star secured, the Midshipmen will head to Oakmont carrying considerable momentum.
MSB Take
Saturday showed why the Army-Navy rivalry can rarely be judged before the final day, because Navy remained close enough at 2.5-1.5 to completely change the competition in singles play. Cowhey and Estonilo’s victory was particularly important because without that point, Army could have entered Sunday with a considerably more comfortable advantage. Instead, Navy stayed within striking distance and then delivered when the pressure increased, winning five singles matches to turn a Saturday deficit into a 6.5-4.5 Star victory.
The bigger story is that Navy once again demonstrated an ability to perform its best when a championship or Star is on the line at West Point. Winning the Patriot League Championship there in the spring and then returning months later to erase an Army lead gives this group an impressive record in pressure situations. For Navy golf, the weekend was another reminder that falling behind does not necessarily mean the Midshipmen are out of a match.
