Local roundup: Lawrence repeats as OLCC men's champion

Old Lyme - Chris Lawrence answered every charge from his tough Old Lyme men's club championship opponent on Monday.

And, finally, on the 17th hole, Lawrence clinched his second straight club championship, beating Mitchell Etess, 2 and 1.

"Nothing is ever easy, especially in tournament golf...," Lawrence said. "I'm just very happy to be competing. I thought I played pretty well so I was happy to play well and come out on top."

Lawrence, who lives in Killingworth, has been an Old Lyme Country Club member for six years. But he had never faced Etess in a club championship match until Monday.

A fast start propelled Lawrence to the lead, as he birdied the opening hole and led by three after five holes.

Etess responded, winning eight, nine and 10 to even the match.

Lawrence had a par on the 11th to take the lead for good and went 2 up before Etess birdied No. 15 to cut the gap to one.

But Lawrence held on thanks to his trusty putter.

"I don't think I had a three-putt all day, which is very good putting for me," Lawrence said. "My putter was working well."

It was quite a day for the Lawrence household.

Lawrence's wife, Eileen, also was a winner, placing first in her age group at the New Haven 5k road race.

"So she's got equal claim to fame," Lawrence said.

College football

• UConn redshirt sophomore linebacker Yawin Smallwood was named the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Smallwood keyed a Husky defense that turned in its first shutout since the 2007 season with a 37-0 win against Massachusetts. He had a team-high seven tackles to go with a sack, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup as the Huskies didn't allow the Minutemen to cross midfield.

Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib was the Offensive Player of the Week while the Special Teams Player of the Week was Temple kicker/punter Brandon McManus.

Tigers rout Yankees

• Jake Stewart hit a pair of solo home runs and Zach Kirskey homered and drove in five runs as the Connecticut Tigers (35-38) routed the State Island Yankees 11-5 in the New York-Penn League.

College men's soccer

• For the second straight game, sophomore Allando Matheson came off the bench to lead No. 5 UConn to victory, scoring the game's only goal in a 1-0 win at Michigan State. Senior Max Wasserman's pass set up the game-winning goal for the Huskies (3-0). Sophomore goalie Andre Blake made five saves to earn his second shutout this season.