Georgia Southern Captures Mizuno Savannah Title
Eagles outlast Furman, Kennesaw State; Logan Blondell wins individual title
POOLER, Ga. - Georgia Southern battled back on the final nine holes to hold off Furman and Kennesaw State for the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate championship, played at the Savannah Quarters Country Club. The Eagles overall shot 865, one stroke better than Furman and five ahead of Kennesaw State.
The title was decided on the final nine holes. All three teams at one point took a share of the lead, but in the end Georgia Southern led the entire field on the par 4s and 5s throughout the tournament to key its second win of the fall.
Francis Marion (888) and Armstrong Atlantic (895) finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Old Dominion (897), Troy (906), Davidson (914), Western Carolina (919), Jacksonville (920), Elon (923), Winthrop (926) and Samford (933) rounded out the field.
The Eagles' title came after carding a final round 295 while Furman and Kennesaw both shot a 3-over 291. In addition to Blondell, Spencer Fulford (217) finished sixth while Drew Lethem (218) tied for seventh.
"Obviously this was a great win. You only play 10-12 tournament a year, so getting a team win is a big deal, especially considering the way we won," said head coach Larry Mays. "We had a great first round, gave a few strokes back in the second round then Furman, Kennesaw (State) and us all traded the lead on the back nine. I think at one time we were down 7-8 strokes the last five holes but our guys did a great job stepping it up and getting the win.
"The win at Francis Marion was much different, we built such a big lead right from the beginning. Today there were hard conditions, the wind really started blowing. Our guys were under the gun and stepped up on the back nine, which is exactly the type of win we are going to need as the season goes along," stated Mays.
Georgia Southern sophomore Logan Blondell won the individual championship after a thrilling two-hole playoff against Furman's Anthony Aloi. Blondell held a one-stroke lead heading into 18, but Aloi got a par and Blondell bogeyed the hole to force a playoff.
Both players sank a tricky par putt on the first playoff hole (playing #18 again). They played #18 for a third consecutive time, this time Aloi hit his drive into the water while Blondell got on the green in two and carded a birdie for his first collegiate championship.
Blondell's championship marks the first individual title by an Eagle since Aron Price won three tournaments in 2005.
"Logan has been close throughout his career (third career 'Top 5' finish), so we were really pulling for him. He works really hard, and winning in a playoff scenario was a big boost for him," said Mays. "Drew (Lethem) played solid all tournament long. He has been our steady player all season. Spencer (Fulford) got off to a bad start, sitting 7-over at the 11th tee, but from there he played 4-under and birdied the last three holes to really give us a boost. Give credit to Jordan (Johnstun) for coming back and shooting the low round for us today. He hew he didn't play well yesterday, so he came up to me today and said he wanted to come out and contribute. I think he birdied three of his last six holes."
The Eagles will finish their fall season in two weeks competing at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina on October 24-26.
Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate
Par 72 - Yardage 7,016
1. Georgia Southern (278-292-295) 865 +1
2. Furman (288-287-291) 866 +2
3. Kennesaw State (298-281-291) 870 +6
4. Francis Marion (290-302-296) 888 +24
5. Armstrong Atlantic (298-300-297) 895 +31
6. Old Dominion (299-297-301) 897 +33
7. Troy (306-299-301) 906 +42
8. Davidson (304-305-305) 914 +50
9. Western Carolina (303-300-316) 919 +55
10. Jacksonville (305-301-314) 920 +56
11. Elon (301-308-314) 923 +59
12. Winthrop (316-299-311) 926 +62
13. Samford (308-314-311) 933 +69
'Top 20' Individuals
** 1. Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern (67-72-73) 212 -4
2. Anthony Aloi, Furman (70-73-69) 212 -4
T-3. Michael Tulacz, Kennesaw State (71-72-72) 215 -1
T-3. Chris Wolfe, Armstrong Atlantic (70-73-72) 215 -1
T-3. J.P. Putnam, Kennesaw State (78-68-69) 215 -1
6. Spencer Fulford, Georgia Southern (71-71-75) 217 +1
T-7. Jackson Taylor, Davidson (73-71-74) 218 +2
T-7. Drew Lethem, Georgia Southern (70-73-75) 218 +2
T-9. J.B. Murphy, Furman (74-72-73) 219 +3
T-9. Matt Hayes, Furman (72-73-74) 219 +3
T-11. Jeff Karlsson, Kennesaw State (78-69-73) 220 +4
T-11. Neil Henderson, Old Dominion (74-74-72) 220 +4
T-13. Matt Motes, Armstrong Atlantic (75-72-74) 221 +5
T-13. Keith Crowley, Francis Marion (68-79-74) 221 +5
T-15. Peter McGibney, Francis Marion (77-71-74) 222 +6
T-15. Jon Wingate, Armstrong Atlantic (76-78-68) 222 +6
T-17. Tom Wilde, Old Dominion (74-74-75) 223 +7
T-17. Michael McGrady, Troy (74-73-76) 223 +7
T-17. Jonathan Bowden, Furman (72-76-75) 223 +7
T-20. Jordan Johnstun, Georgia Southern (76-76-72) 224 +8
T-20. *Bobby Baird, Samford (75-72-77) 224 +8
** Won individual title in playoff (2nd hole)
* Competed as an individual, did not count in team scoring
Aloi, Furman Finish Second At Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate
Savannah, Ga. -- The Furman men’s golf team finished one-stroke behind tournament champions Georgia Southern and Paladin freshman Anthony Aloi fell to the Eagles’ Logan Blondell on the second playoff hole at the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate on Tuesday at the par-72 Savannah Quarters Country Club.
Aloi (70-73-69=212), notched a season-best 69 during Tuesday’s final round to force a sudden death playoff with Blondell (67-72-73=212) before the Georgia Southern golfer claimed individual medalist honors on the second playoff hole. A native of Plainsboro, N.J., Aloi recorded 13 birdies over
54 holes to score his best collegiate finish.
Fellow freshman J.B. Murphy (74-72-73=219) and senior Matt Hayes (72-73-74=219) tied for ninth place at three-over-par while senior Jonathan Bowden (72-76-75=223) claimed 17th at seven-over. Daniel Bowden (75-69-83=227), who birdied a tournament-best 14 holes, finished 32nd.
Georgia Southern (278-292-295=865) edged Furman (288-287-291=866) by one stroke after holding a five-stroke lead entering the final round. Kennesaw State, Francis Marion and Armstrong Atlantic rounded out the top five ahead of top 10 finishers Old Dominion, Troy, Davidson, Western Carolina and Jacksonville.
Furman will return to action November 3-4, at the Western Carolina Intercollegiate.
2 Furman 288 287 291 866
2 Anthony Aloi 70 73 69 212
T9 J.B. Murphy 74 72 73 219
T9 Matt Hayes 72 73 74 219
T17 Jonathan Bowden 72 76 75 223
32 Daniel Bowden 75 69 83 227
Medeiros leads Terriers at Stono Cup
HOLLYWOOD, S.C. -- Junior Garrett Medeiros was the lone Wofford individual in the top 10 as the Terriers earned a sixth-place tying score at the Stono Cup at The Links at Stono Ferry in Hollywood, S.C., Tuesday.
Wofford moved up from eighth position following day one to a tie with Gardner-Webb after posting a 295-313-300--908 (+44). Gardner-Webb slipped from second place to the tie on the par 72, 6,616-yard course.
Medeiros fired an Even par score and finished at 4-over par with a 73-75-72--220 to tie for eighth.
Freshman Brent Whitehead tallied a 72-79-74--225 (+9) to tie for 18th, while senior Drew Perry garnered a 27th-place tying result after he recorded a 77-74-78--229 (+13).
Senior John Gault was the only other Terrier counter and he earned a 36th-place finish after carding a 77-85-76--238 (+22). Junior Mike McKenzie was forced to withdraw for the second-straight round.
Stephen F. Austin's Kyle Robbins captured the individual medalist crown with a 5-under par 211, while the Lumberjacks won the team title in a playoff over USC Upstate.
Host College of Charleston picked up the Stono Cup, which was awarded to the school with the lowest combined scores of its men's and women's teams. Wofford placed third in the standings out of the six eligible schools.
The Terriers will return to action Oct. 12-14 at the Davidson College Invitational at the River Run Country Club in Davidson, N.C.
Wofford Individuals:
T8--Garrett Medeiros, 73-75-72--220 (+4)
T18--Brent Whitehead, 72-79-74--225 (+9)
T27--Drew Perry, 77-74-78--229 (+13)
36--John Gault, 77-85-76--238 (+22)
WD--Mike McKenzie, 73-WD-WD
Top-10 Individuals:
1--Kyle Robbins (Stephen F. Austin), 66-71-74--211 (-5)
2--Michael Meisenzahl (James Madison), 70-73-71--214 (-2)
3--Stuart Ashwood (Belmont), 73-73-70--216 (E)
4--Chris Wellde (James Madison), 69-75-73--217 (+1)
T5--Tim Tang (College of Charleston), 74-70-74--218 (+2)
T5--Josh Gallman (USC Upstate), 71-73-74--218 (+2)
7--Tyler Tucker (USC Upstate), 70-71-78--219 (+3)
T8--Garrett Medeiros (Wofford), 73-75-72--220 (+4)
T8--Harrison Moore (College of Charleston), 78-72-70--220 (+4)
T10--John Fox (Tennessee Tech), 71-72-78--221 (+5)
T10--Ryan Bell (Gardner-Webb), 69-72-80--221 (+5)
T10--Michael Lawrence (USC Upstate), 74-71-76--221 (+5)
Team Standings:
1--Stephen F. Austin, 299-288-297--884 (+20)*
2--USC Upstate, 293-287-304--884 (+20)
3--James Madison, 288-300-298--886 (+22)
4--College of Charleston, 305-286-297--888 (+24)
5--Belmont, 301-292-302--895 (+31)
T6--Wofford, 295-313-300--908 (+44)
T6--Gardner-Webb, 292-294-322--908 (+44)
8--Tennessee Tech, 305-300-313--918 (+54)
*-won in a playoff
Stono Cup Standings:
1--College of Charleston, 1802
2--James Madison, 1815
3--Wofford, 1839
4--Gardner-Webb, 1866
5--Tennessee Tech, 1875
6--USC Upstate, 1883
Western Carolina Men’s Golf Finishes Ninth at Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate
Junior transfer Martin Summer led the Catamounts, tied for 27th
Savannah, Ga. ? Junior transfer Martin Summer posted his best-career finish for the purple and gold finishing tied for 27th as the Western Carolina men’s golf team finished ninth out of 13 teams at the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate held at the par 72, 7.016-yard Savannah Quarters Country Club.
Host Georgia Southern, which led each of the three rounds of the event, edged out Southern Conference rival, Furman, to claim the team championship by one stroke. GSU shot a two-day total of 865 while the Paladins carded a team 866 which included tying the low-round of the final day at 291. Kennesaw State (870), which also shot 291 on Tuesday, was third followed by Francis Marion (888) and Armstrong Atlantic (895) rounding out the top five.
GSU’s Logan Blondell won individual medalist honors at the three-round event on the second playoff hole over Furman’s Anthony Aloi, who was relegated to second. The two finished with identical 54-hole scores of 212 forcing the playoff. Michael Tulacz and teammate J.P. Putnam of Kennesaw State finished tied for third with Armstrong Atlantic’s Chris Wolfe to round out the top five finishers.
Summer, who was tied for eighth in par 5 scoring for the tournament at four-under, concluded the three-round event with scores of 80, 73 and 73 for 226. Senior Andres Cuenca placed tied for 37th with a final score of 230. Rounding out Western’s finishers were sophomore Caleb Marsh (t-49th, 234), freshman Drew Miller (t-56th, 236) and junior Ricky Stout (74th, 248).
Playing as an individual, junior Cody Walker finished tied for 56th, shooting a seven-over 79 on the final 18 holes to record a three-round total of 236. Already with four events in the books for the fall season, the Catamounts will have over three weeks to prepare their next event ? one in which they will be hosting. Western Carolina will welcome teams to the Country Club of Sapphire Valley on Nov. 2-5 for the Hummingbird Intercollegiate. Last season, WCU won both team and individual medalist honors at the event held at the private, member-owned club, with Cuenca winning top individual honors.
9 Western Carolina 303 300 316 919
T 27 Martin Summer 80 73 73 226
T 37 Andres Cuenca 78 74 78 230
T 49 Caleb Marsh 78 76 80 234
T 56 Drew Miller 74 77 85 236
74 Ricky Stout 73 88 87 248
SAMFORD MEN’S GOLF FINISHES 13TH AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN TOURNEY
--- The Bulldogs’ Ian Cutting fires a team-best 72 on Tuesday to place 27th ---
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Samford University men’s golf team completed its third fall tournament of the 2008 season on Tuesday and finished 13th at the 2008 Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate. The two-day event was held at the Greg Norman-designed Savannah Quarters Country Club.
“This wasn’t exactly our best week, but I think we were able to take some positives from it,” said Samford head coach Woodie Eubanks. “We have a very young team and I am optimistic that good things will still happen for us this year. We have a lot of talent on this team, but we just need to do a better job of utilizing it.”
Samford concluded the competition with a final team score of 933. On Tuesday, the Bulldogs carded a third-round mark of 311, their second best score of the tournament. In Monday’s opening round, Samford turned in its lowest scorecard of the competition by shooting a 308.
Ian Cutting, the Bulldogs’ senior from Fayetteville, Ga., finished the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate in a tie for 27th place. Cutting paced Samford with a three-round score of 226 (77-77-72) and fired a team-low mark of 72 on Tuesday.
Sophomore Martin Bunt turned in Samford’s second best score of the tournament at 233 (74-83-76), while Jeremy Cox finished third with a three-day total of 239 (78-77-84). The Bulldogs’ Andrew Villarreal (81-79-81?242) and Houston Hough (79-81-82?242) rounded out the team’s top five.
Georgia Southern, the host team of the 2008 Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate, carded a 295 on Tuesday to barely hold off Southern Conference-rival Furman for a one-stroke victory.
Georgia Southern finished the two-day event with a final team score of 865, while Furman placed second at 866. Georgia Southern’s Logan Blondell and Furman’s Anthony Aloi both finished tied for first in the individual competition at 212.
Blondell eventually won the tournament title in a playoff.
The Samford University men’s golf team will next be in action Sunday as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2008 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. The prestigious three-day event will be held at the Old Overton Club in Birmingham, Ala., and will officially be hosted by the University of Alabama.
Taylor Records First Career Top-Ten, Wildcats Finish 8th at Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate
SAVANNAH, Ga. - For the second consecutive week, the Davidson men’s golf team used the final 18 holes to vault themselves into the top ten of the team standings, bringing home back-to-back eighth-place finishes, the most recent coming after Tuesday’s final round the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate at the Savannah Quarters Country Club.
The ?Cats were paced by freshman Jackson Taylor, who continued the impressive start to his collegiate career with his first-ever top-ten finish, shooting a 74 for the final round to put him in seventh place with a combined three-round total of a two-over 218, which was also a career-best tournament score.
Entering Tuesday’s play in a tie for tenth place, Davidson fired a final-round team score of 305 to give them consecutive top-tens to open the 2008-09 season, and their third in a row going back to last year’s ninth at the SoCon Championships.
All five Davidson golfers closed out the tournament with their best finishes of the year, led by Adam Lewicki, who came in 33rd with a three-round total of 228. Christopher Rollins made the biggest jump from the second round, moving up 14 places to come in a tie for 44th overall. Bobby Urso (235/T-54th), and Ryan Crum (247/72nd) rounded out the Wildcat performers.
Tournament host Georgia Southern held onto their 36-hole team lead to take home the victory, finishing with a final 865, one stroke in front of runner-up Furman. The other Southern Conference teams in the tournament included Western Carolina, who came in right behind Davidson in ninth place, Elon (11th), and conference newcomer Samford, who rounded out the field in 13th.
The individual title came down to a two-man playoff between Georgia Southern’s Logan Blondell and Furman’s Anthony Aloi, who both finished the tournament at four-under par. Blondell emerged the victor on the second playoff hole to complete the GSU sweep.
The Wildcats will look to keep their top-ten streak alive when they return home next week to host the Davidson College Invitational on Oct. 13-14.
College of Charleston Men's Golf Finishes Fourth at Stono Cup
Charleston, S.C. - Three Cougars posted top 15 finishes as the College of Charleston men's golf team ended just four strokes out of first to finish fourth at the Stono Cup held Oct. 6-7 at the Links at Stono Ferry. Stephen F. Austin won the men's title in a play-off with USC Upstate. Both teams finished 36 holes with an 884. James Madison placed third with an 886.
The College of Charleston took home the Stono Cup. With an 1802, the Cougars posted the best men's and women's combined score to win the cup for the second straight year.
Tim Tang led the Cougars, tying for fifth with a 218. Harrison Moore tied for eighth with a 220, while Coy Breen tied for 13th with a 222. Soonam Kim posted a 228 to tie for 23rd while Cabe Prieskorn tied for 32nd with a 234.
Ben Pounds competed as an individual and tied for 15th with a 223. Elliott Lopez finished 41st with a 248.
Charleston next competes at the Baylor Intercollegiate Oct. 27-28 in Dallas, Texas.
Stono Cup Combined Standings
1) College of Charleston - 1802
2) James Madison - 1815
3) Wofford - 1839
4) Gardner Webb - 1866
5)Tennessee Tech - 1878
6) USC Upstate - 1883
Team Results
** 1 Stephen F. Austin St 299-288-297=884
2 USC Upstate 293-287-304=884
3 James Madison 288-300-298=886
4 Charleston, Coll. Of 305-286-297=888
5 Belmont 301-292-302=895
6 Gardner-Webb 292-294-322=908
Wofford College 295-313-300=908
8 Tennessee Tech 305-300-313=918
College of Charleston Results
T5 Tim Tang 74-70-74=218
T8 Harrison Moore 78-72-70=220
T13 Coy Breen 75-72-75=222
T23 Soonam Kim 78-72-78=228
T32 Cabe Prieskorn 80-75-79=234
College of Charleston Individual Results
T15 Ben Pounds 75-74-74=223
41 Elliott Lopez 88-83-77=248
Bowman’s 74 leads UNCG on final day at Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, IN ? Will Bowman’s final round 74 led the way as UNC Greensboro finished in a tie for 13th at the Notre Dame Gridiron Classic men’s golf tournament on Tuesday.
The Spartans carded a final round 303 to finish at 908, tied with North Florida. Arkansas won the event by four shots over UC Davis. UC Davis got a huge lift on Tuesday from Brent Booth, who shot a 64 to jump from 35th place to fourth in the final individual standings.
Michigan State’s Randy Hutchison won the individual title with a final score of 210, one shot better than Arkansas’ Andrew Landry. Hutchison finished the tournament at even-par.
Drew Younts was UNCG’s top finisher. He finished 29th, while Bowman finished 39th. Bowman played his best round of the tournament on Tuesday, recording 12 pars and a birdie.
UNCG returns to action on October 13 when it plays at the Duke Individual Collegiate.
AGATE
TEAM SCORING: Arkansas 863, UC Davis 867, Michigan State 871, Minnesota 874, Lamar 879, Virginia 880, Iowa 892, VCU 892, Southeastern Louisiana 895, San Francisco 899, DePaul 900, San Diego 904, UNCG 908, North Florida 908, Notre Dame "A" 911, Notre Dame "B" 916
INDIVIDUAL SCORING:
Top 10: 1. Randy Hutchison (Michigan State) 69-72-69=210; 2. Andrew Landry (Arkansas) 70-71-70=211; 3. Jamie Marshall (Arkansas) 70-73-69=212; 4. Brent Booth (UC Davis) 74-76-64=214; T-5. Rafael Campos (VCU) 76-70-69=215; T-5. Leroux Ferriera (Lamar) 72-71-72=215; T-5. David Lingmerth (Arkansas) 74-73-68=215; T-8. Ben Kohles (Virginia) 72-72-72=216; T-8. Kyle Stough
(Virginia) 71-70-75=216.
Other UNCG Golfers: T-29. Drew Younts 77-70-77=224; T-39. Will Bowman 73-79-74=226; T-62. Will Almand 77-80-75=232; T-67. Darragh Coghlan 74-82-77=233; T-67. Kyle Sonday 77-75-81=233.