Elon ties for fifth at Joe Agee Invitational

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Will Dilanni shot a 1-under par 70 in Tuesday's final round of the Joe Agee Invitational to help lead the Elon Phoenix men's golf squad to a tie for fifth at the event. The Phoenix finished the tournament with a three-round score of 896 (300-295-301).

Dilanni's 217 (75-72-70) was good enough to earn him a tie for seventh individually among the 60-player field. Dilanni concluded his three rounds with 36 pars, tied for the fourth most in the tournament.

In a tie for 15th was John Somers, who shot a 223 (70-74-79). Over the two days of the event, Somers posted nine birdies. Two strokes back in 22nd place was Jack Adkins. Adkins, who also had nine birdies, shot a 225 (73-74-78).

Raphael Higuet's 234 (83-75-76) placed him in a tie for 40th while Dylan Morgan shot a 236 (82-77-77) to tie for 43rd.

High Point (287-285-289=861) edged out Radford (285-287-290=862) by one stroke to claim the team title. Host William & Mary placed third with a mark of 873 (286-291-296), while Delaware (299-288-302=889) finished fourth. Sharing the fifth spot with the Phoenix was LIU-Brooklyn (299-301-296=896).

Chase Williams of High Point took home the individual crown, shooting a 206 (67-67-72).

The Phoenix is off until Oct. 15-16 when it competes at the Donald Ross Intercollegiate in Morganton, N.C.

 

Western Carolina finishes sixth at Saint Mary’s Invitational

SEASIDE, Calif. – Western Carolina put three golfers inside the final top 26 overall, including two inside the top 10, carding its tournament-low round of 290 on Tuesday to finish in sixth place at the Saint Mary’s Invitational held at the Black Horse & Bayonet Golf Course.

Sophomore J.T. Poston led the Catamounts, finishing in a two-way tie for fourth place with a two-day total of 214, while redshirt senior Kyle Wilson rallied to finish tied for 10th with three others, three strokes back at 217.

WCU finished with team round scores of 303, 292 and 290 to shoot 885 collectively as a team, its best 54-hole showing since October 2011, when it posted an 871 at the Donald Ross Intercollegiate at the Mimosa Hills Country Club.

Poston, who matched his career-low 18-hole score with a 66 in second round, recorded his career-best finish while also matching his best 54-hole tournament score of 2-under par, 214 – just two strokes off the pace from the individual champion. Wilson, who carded a season-low 69 – one off his career best – in the final round, turned in his second-best career finish – and best showing since the fall of 2009.

All told, Wilson finished with a team-high 14 birdies and an Eagle during tournament play, just ahead of Poston who had 12 birdies and a team-best 33 pars.

Senior Steven Smith gained three spots in the final standings over the last 18 holes, shooting his best round of the tournament at an even-par 72 to finish tied for 26th overall at 222, his best 54-hole tournament score at WCU. Smith finished a close second on the team with 32 pars, adding eight birdies over the three-round event.

Rounding out the Catamount finishers were junior Greg Bunner, who slipped into a tie for 66th place overall at 234, and redshirt sophomore Collin Witiak in 78th overall after shooting his best round of 5-over 77 for a two-day total of 239.

Tournament host Saint Mary’s (Calif.) held on for the tournament championship over a hard-charging Kentucky, which rallied from 10th after the opening round, finishing with a tourney-low round of 280 on Tuesday. Saint Mary’s finished with a two-day, three-round score of 860 while Kentucky was at 867, seven strokes in arrears. Oregon finished third at 874, followed by Fresno State (878) and Santa Clara (882).

Southern Conference foe Samford finished 12th overall with a 54-hole score of 908.

Ben Geyer of host Saint Mary’s turned in the tournament-low round of 65 on Tuesday to rally 19 spots in the final finishing order to claim individual medalist honors by a stroke over a two-way tie for second place. Geyer shot 75, 72 and 65 to finish at 212, while Jobim Carolos, playing unattached from San Francisco, and Scott Lowe from Santa Clara settled for second with matching scores of 213.

Western Carolina returns to action Oct. 15-16 at the aforementioned Donald Ross Intercollegiate, hosted by Appalachian State at the Mimosa Hills Country Club. WCU finished fourth at last year’s event with a season-low three-round score of 871.

 

Samford finishes 12th at Saint Mary’s Invitational

SEASIDE, Calif. – The Samford University men’s golf team turned in its best round of the 2012 Saint Mary’s Invitational on Tuesday as the Bulldogs posted a second-day score of 299 en route to a 12th-place finish at the talent-laden competition held at the par-72, 7,104-yard Black Horse & Bayonet Golf Course.

The two-day tournament featured a 54-hole format with the low four scores from each team's designated five-player lineup counting toward the team total each round. The teams played 36 holes Monday, followed by a final round of 18 holes Tuesday.

The field of the 2012 Saint Mary’s Invitational included teams from the eight different conferences, including the Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big 12, Big West, Pac-12, Southeastern, Southern, West Coast and Western Athletic conferences.

In addition to Samford, the field consisted of host school Saint Mary’s, Cal Poly, CSU Northridge, Florida Gulf Coast, Fresno State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Loyola Marymount, Oregon, Sacramento State, San Francisco, Santa Clara, UC Irvine and Western Carolina.

Samford concluded the 54-hole tournament with a final team score of 908 (304-305-299). The Bulldogs placed 12th in the highly competitive tournament and finished just six strokes out of ninth place.

Host school Saint Mary’s cruised to the championship title of this week’s event with a three-round tally of 860 (290-285-285). Kentucky placed second at 867 (305-382-280), while Oregon (296-287-291=874), Fresno State (289-288-301=878) and Santa Clara (301-287-294=882) rounded out the top five.

Samford’s top finisher at the 2012 Saint Mary’s Invitational was senior Casey O’Toole. The Bulldogs’ native of Oneonta, Ala., earned a 9-over-par 225 (71-78-76) at the two-day tournament. Following a first-round score of 1-under-par 71, O’Toole held fourth place in the individual standings.

Bill Nabors, who posted a Samford-best score of 76 on Tuesday, finished with a three-round mark of 226 (79-74-73), while Drew Aimone placed third on the team with a 229 (77-78-74). Rounding out the Bulldogs’ scoring for the week were sophomore Zach Hughes (77-79-77=233) and senior Gabe Hyde (83-75-76=234).

Saint Mary’s Ben Geyer carded a sizzling 7-under-par 65 on Tuesday to earn Individual medalist honors at the Saint Mary’s Invitational. He finished the three-round competition with a 4-under-par 212.

The Samford University men’s golf team will next be in action Oct. 8-9, as the Bulldogs compete in the Akron Invitational to be held at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

 

Furman sixth at Cardinal Intercollegiate

SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – Senior Matt Brown posted a final-round 71 and fellow senior Anthony Aloi secured a share of seventh place with a 1-over 73 to help Furman to sixth place on Tuesday in the Cardinal Intercollegiate at the par-72 Cardinal Club Golf Course.

The final round of the 54-hole tournament was delayed all morning due to inclement weather before teeing off at approximately 1:15 p.m.

Furman (+17) climbed two spots to a sixth place finish after compiling a final round six-over 294. Aloi (-2), 3-under par after two rounds, captured a top-10 finish with his 73, while Brown moved up to a 13th place finish at 1-over 217.

The host Louisville Cardinals (-6) took first place on the strength of a final-round 288. Bowling Green (+3), Murray State (+4), Arkansas-Little Rock (+7) and Austin Peay (+16) rounded out the top five.

Wes Gates (-7) of Bowling Green grabbed individual medalist honors at 7-under par after an even-par 72 on Tuesday.

The Paladins return to action Oct. 12-14, at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate in Johnson City, Tenn.

 

UNCG finishes tied for ninth at VCU Shootout

MANAKIN-SABOT, Va. – The UNCG men’s golf team wrapped up play at the VCU Shootout on Tuesday afternoon, firing a final-round score of 313 to finish the tournament tied for ninth overall with a 922 team score (315-294-313) at the Hermitage Country Club.

Virginia Tech won the event with a score of 878 (292-295-291), while Wichita State fell to second overall with an 887 (288-292-307).

Freshman Luke Haithcock was the Spartans’ top performer in the 54-hole event, as he finished tied for 14th place overall with a 7-over par 223 (73-71-79). The 223 is one shot better than his inaugural collegiate golf outing, as he posted a 224 last week at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate.

Maryland’s Sean Bosdosh won the event with a 4-under par 212 (70-71-71), while Iowa State’s Scott Fernandez and Long Beach State’s Raymond Ho finished in a tie for second at 2-under par 214.

Freshman Taylor Coalson posted the Spartans’ top third-round score, shooting a 3-over par 75 to finish the event with a 232 (81-76-75) to tie for 38th place. Sophomore Alex Ehlert made his first appearance of the season at the VCU Shootout and finished in a tie for 47th place with a 235 (81-73-81).

Sophomore Roy Dixon also fired a 235 for the tournament (80-76-79) while senior Robert Hoadley carded a 239 (85-74-80) to finish in 57th place. Additionally, senior Matt Younts posted a 33rd-place finish as an individual with a combined score of 230 (70-82-78).

UNCG returns to action Oct. 15-16 as it travels to Duluth, Ga., for the Auto Trader Collegiate held at the Berkeley Hill Country Club and hosted by Georgia State.

 

Chattanooga wraps up PING/Golfweek Preview in 15th place

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team finished 15th at the PING/Golfweek Preview on Tuesday, shooting 894. The PING/Golfweek Preview featured a top-flight field at the Capital City Club - Crabapple Course, site of the 2013 NCAA Championship, with 14 of the 15 teams ranked in Golfweek's preseason top 25 (UTC was No. 24).

Steven Fox was low in the final round for UTC, while Chris Robb had the Mocs' best overall finish. Fox's even-par 70 Tuesday gave him a 218 finish, tying for 39th. Robb ended up tied for 30th, two strokes clear of his teammate.

Liam Johnston was next for Chattanooga at 222. Alex Ratliff and Kory Webb shot 238 and 244, respectively.

Georgia Tech and Cal were declared co-champions at 5-over 845. Each shot 4- under in its final-round 276, which was the best team result of the tournament. Texas and opening-round leader UNLV tied for third at 853, nine shots off the pace.

San Diego State's Tom Berry was the wire-to-wire winner. His 2-over par 72 gave him a 54-hole total of 208, minus-2, good enough for a two-shot win over nine student-athletes tied for second at 210 (E).

Next up for Chattanooga is the Brickyard Collegiate Championship on Oct. 5-7 at the Brickyard at Riverside in Macon, Ga.