Day three of the International Junior Masters at East Aurora country club saw the conclusion of quarterfinal matches and the reduction of the field to a slim 20 golfers, four in each of five flights. The marquee Friday matchups are found in the Championship flight, where two-time NYSPHSAA qualifiers Nolan Ditcher of Randolph and Will Thompson of Pittsford will face off for a spot in the championship match. On the other side of the draw, Blake Gerber of Mesa, Arizona will spar with the defending IJM champion, Trevor Ranton of Waterloo, Ontario. The Consolation bracket features 2014 NYSPHSAA champion Jack Gianniny of Rochester against Peyton Steigerwald of Penfield in one semifinal bout, while Diego Ovalle of Colombia will meet Spencer Dobbs of Whitby, Ontario in the other, pre-final challenge.
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Flights Gold, Silver and Bronze offer challenging competition as well. In the Gold flight, Sam Riemer of Massachusetts plays Alex Park of Vancouver, Canada, while Gunnar Doyle of Pittsford meets Juan Pallach of Mexico. The Silver bracket semifinals have Tyler Nagano of Toronto against Evan Gaesser of Kendall, NY, and Jaret Chipman of Ontario meeting Etienne Brault of Quebec. The Bronze flight sees Kevin Borowicz of Grand Island match up with Carl Davidson of East Aurora, and Andrew Russ of Oakville, Ontario opposite Anthony Muscato of Pennsylvania.
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Thursday’s play was interrupted by a forty-minute downpour, but play was completed with plenty of daylight left. Will Thomson won his quarterfinal match decisively, 6 and 4 against Maxime Laoun of Quebec. Both Blake Gerber and Trevor Ranton won their round of 8 matches on the 16th green, while Nolan Ditcher went to the penultimate hole in his victory over Colin Dubnik of Rochester. Play begins on Friday morning at 7:30, with the first championship semi-final at 8:50 and the second at 9. The final match will go off around 2 pm.
