Phoenix, Cuenca capture titles at Wofford Invitational presented by VAULT
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Day one leaders Elon and Western Carolina's Andres Cuenca held on to their respective leads to earn team and individual titles, respectively, Tuesday at the 20th Annual Wofford Invitational presented by VAULT at The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, S.C. The 54-hole, two-day event resumed following a two-hour delay for fog Tuesday morning and concluded with the final 18 holes on the 6,877-yard, par 72 course on another picture perfect weather day.

Elon shot under par for the third-straight round in finishing as the only school in the 14-team field under par. The Phoenix carded a 7-under par 287-284-286--857 to win the team crown by 10 strokes over Charleston Southern, the 2006 winner. The 7-under par team score is the fifth lowest in tournament history and fourth lowest for 54 holes since the event began in 1988. Elon also becomes the first team to finish the tournament under par since Virginia and East Carolina each did it in 2002.

Cuenca entered final round action with a two-shot edge and fired Even par Tuesday to hold off Elon's Justin Newton and Wofford B's John Gault in the race for medalist honors. The Western Carolina sophomore posted an 8-under par 70-66-72--208 to tie for the seventh-lowest tally in tournament history. His final score is the lowest for an individual since Virginia's Steve Marino registered a 9-under par 207 to win the 2002 championship.

Gault, playing as a member of the B team, finished as the top Terrier in the clubhouse with a 68-71-71--210 (-6), tying Newton for second place. Gault's finish is a personal best and is his first career top-10 result. Until this tournament, he had only two career rounds at even par or better.

Freshman Mike McKenzie, representing the Wofford A squad, notched a 73-70-70--213 (-3) to tie for seventh, one shot ahead of last year's winner, Shawn Hall of Charleston Southern.

Dustin Adair, playing as an individual, finished tied for 48th with a 72-81-74--227 (+11) in what could possibly be his final tournament as a Terrier. He began his collegiate career at the Wofford Invitational as a freshman in 2004.

The Wofford A team finished fourth overall, while the Terrier B squad placed 13th.

Wofford will conclude its 2006-07 campaign April 22-24 at the Southern Conference Championship at The Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C.

Wofford 'A' Individuals:
T7--Mike McKenzie, 73-70-70--213 (-3)
T21--Kirk Whitehead, 72-72-75--219 (+3)
T26--Drew Perry, 72-78-70--220 (+4)
T33--Garrett Medeiros, 73-72-76--221 (+5)
61--Neil O'Briain, 78-74-77--229 (+13)

Wofford 'B' Individuals:
T2--John Gault, 68-71-71--210 (-6)
T48--Matt Mielke, 76-78-73--227 (+11)
T66--Jonathan Strauss, 80-74-81--235 (+19)
70--Matt Davis, 81-78-81--240 (+24)
WD--James Walker

Wofford Individual:
T48--Dustin Adair, 72-81-74--227 (+11)

Top-10 Individuals:
1--Andres Cuenca (Western Carolina), 70-66-72--208 (-8)
T2--John Gault (Wofford B), 68-71-71--210 (-6)
T2--Justin Newton (Elon), 69-71-70--210 (-6)
T4--Russel Knox (Jacksonville), 73-66-73--212 (-4)
T4--Scott Hockemeyer (Elon), 74-67-71--212 (-4)
T4--Mark Silvers (South Carolina), 69-69-74--212 (-4)*
T7--Mike McKenzie (Wofford), 73-70-70--213 (-3)
T7--Matt Cook (Western Carolina), 68-73-72--213 (-3)
T9--Shawn Hall (Charleston Southern), 71-70-73--214 (-2)
T9--Jacob Tveit (Francis Marion), 75-69-70--214 (-2)

Team Standings:
1--Elon, 287-284-286--857 (-7)
2--Charleston Southern, 291-281-295--867 (+3)
3--Jacksonville, 295-284-289--868 (+4)
4--Wofford, 290-288-291--869 (+5)
T5--Western Carolina, 289-287-297--873 (+9)
T5--Samford, 288-293-292--873 (+9)
7--South Carolina, 290-293-293--876 (+12)
T8--Winthrop, 299-288-291--878 (+14)
T8--Francis Marion, 291-288-299--878 (+14)
10--Gardner-Webb, 291-288-303--882 (+18)
11--Stetson, 299-299-294--892 (+28)
12--High Point, 309-298-292--899 (+35)
13--Wofford 'B', 305-301-306--912 (+48)
14--Appalachian State, 305-309-301--915 (+51)

Paladins Finish Second At Bradford Creek Intercollegiate

Greenville, N.C. ? The Furman men’s golf team carded a final round 281 to equal its season best round and claim a second place finish Tuesday at the Bradford Creek Intercollegiate at the Bradford Creek Country Club in Greenville, N.C.

Furman (286-281-281=848) finished one stroke back of first place Radford by firing its three best rounds of the season.  The Paladins’ back-to-back rounds of 281 mark the eighth best single round scores in Furman history.

Red-shirt freshman Danny Schmieding keyed the Paladins’ final round with a career-best three-under par 69.  With his third round of par or better, Schmieding (72-71-69=212) claimed a share of seventh place.

Matt Hayes (73-70-71=214), Garland Ferrell (69-75-70=214) and Jonathan Bowden (75-69-71=215) also broke par in the final round of the 54-hole event to claim top 15 finishes.

Nick Nosewicz of Barton College took individual honors with an 11-under par 205.

Furman will look to continue its hot streak April 22-24, when it returns to action in the Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championships at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C.

2          Furman University          286       281       281       848

T 7        Danny Schmieding         72         71         69         212

T 13      Matt Hayes                   73         70         71         214

T 13      Garland Ferrell               69         75         70         214

T 15      Jonathan Bowden           75         69         71         215

T 26      Robert Jamieson            72         71         74         217

GSU Golf Concludes Competition at Administaff Augusta State Tourney

EVANS, Ga. ? Eagle Chris Smith finished tied for 24th place while the Georgia Southern golf team concluded its three-day outing at the Administaff Augusta State Invitational, Sunday afternoon, finishing tied for 15th.

Smith (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished the weekend with a career-low even-par 216, at the par-72, 7,301-yard Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga.  His second and third rounds of 1-under 72 erased his 74 in the first round, giving the junior his second top-25 performance of the season.  He recorded seven birdies in the final round.

Tying for 29th, junior Drew Lethem’s 1-under 71 performance, Sunday, matched Smith’s third-round tally, giving the Overland Park, Kan.-native a 1-over 217 on the weekend ? his lowest 54-hole total and his first top-30 performance since transferring to Georgia Southern in the spring.  Sunday’s final round was also his lowest 18-hole score since the year’s beginning, which included an eagle on the 16th hole.

Trailing leader North Carolina by nine strokes going into Sunday’s final round, Coastal Carolina fought it’s way into the lead, and finally edged North Carolina for the team title by one stroke with an 11-under 853.

Coastal Carolina had a consistent outing from Dustin Johnson who carded a 4-under 68 each day, totaling a 12-under 204 for the tournament title.

“As a team, the first nine we shot a 14-over; but after that for the remaining 45 holes we shot 3-over,” said head coach Larry Mays.  “We had one bad nine-hole stretch, but then we played really solid.  So, we’re looking to build off of our last 45 holes and get ready for The Intercollegiate at North Carolina State.”

Georgia Southern has two weeks to prepare for The Intercollegiate at the Devil’s Ridge Country Club in Raleigh, N.C., which is slated for April 13-14.

CofC Men’s Golf Finishes Tied for Fifth at Aldila Intercollegiate

Scott Larkin finished tied for sixth while Harrison Moore finished tied for 15th to lead the College of Charleston men’s golf team to a tie for fifth after the third and final round of the Middle Tennessee/Aldila Intercollegiate held this week at the Old Fort Golf Course in Murfreesboro, Tenn.  Southeastern Louisiana won the tournament with an 862.  Charleston totaled an 886 along with New Orleans for the tie.

Texas State’s Michael Carnes fired a 213 to win individual medalist honors.  Larkin’s 216 was just two strokes off the leader.  Moore tied for 15th with his 219 and tied for 28th was Scott Glaze with a three-round total of 223.  Ryan Blue tied for 46th with a 229.  Dustin Barr withdrew in the third round and did not post a final score.

The Cougars are next in action April 22nd at the Southern Conference Tournament.

Team Results

1          Southeastern La.           285-282-295=862 -2

2          Texas State                  288-290-287=865 +1

3          Middle Tennessee St.    288-288-298=874 +10

4          Troy                             292-290-295=877 +13

5          New Orleans                 297-292-297=886 +22

           Charleston                     295-293-298=886 +22

7          Arkansas State             301-289-297=887 +23

            Jacksonville St.             291-290-306=887 +23

9          Western Kentucky         290-302-300=892 +28

10         UALR                          295-302-296=893 +29

11         Murray State                304-301-304=909 +45

Cougar Results

T6         Scott Larkin       71-70-75=216

T15       Harrison Moore  71-76-72=219

T28       Scott Glaze       80-72-71=223

T46       Ryan Blue         74-75-80=229

WD       Dustin Barr        79-80-WD