GSU’s Lethem Holds on for Individual Medalist Honors
Team Standings
Individual Standings
Team-by-Team Standings
PHOTO SLIDESHOW
FLORENCE, S.C. ? After entering the final three holes tied at 12-under par, Chattanooga shot even par over the closing stretch to edge Georgia Southern by two strokes and win the 2009 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship.
Georgia Southern’s Drew Lethem (-6), who followed a tournament-low 66 in round one with back-to-back even par 72s, claimed individual medalist honors and his first career collegiate title. Lethem narrowly topped Tanner Briele (-5) of Western Carolina and Fredrik Qvicker (-5) of Chattanooga.
Chattanooga entered the final round with a four-stroke advantage over the Eagles, but the lead went back and forth throughout the day. GSU’s Ryan LeFevre birdied No. 18 to give the Eagles a one-shot margin while setting up the dramatic finish. However, each Chattanooga player recorded a par 4 at the 18th while Georgia Southern’s final three golfers all bogeyed on the final hole.
The victory is Chattanooga’s third consecutive SoCon title, all of which have come at the par 72, 7,062-yard Country Club of South Carolina. With the win, the Mocs earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals, which run from May 14-16.
Lethem also earns automatic qualification to the NCAA Regionals as the individual conference champion.
Also placing in the top 10 was Georgia Southern’s Logan Blondell (-4), the fourth-place finisher who was voted as the league’s Player of the Year. In a tie for fifth place were Western Carolina’s Ricky Stout, Chattanooga’s Stephan Jaeger and UNC Greensboro’s Will Bowman at three-under par.
Rounding out the top 10 were Drew Perry of Wofford, Ben Rickett of Chattanooga, Daniel Bowden of Furman and Derek Rende of Chattanooga, who finished tied for eighth at -2.
Western Carolina (E) overcame a seven-stroke deficit to begin the day to claim third place by eight strokes over Furman (+8). Wofford (+15) placed fifth while Elon (+19) was sixth and Davidson (+30) seventh.
UNC Greensboro (+37), College of Charleston (+39), Samford (+42) and Appalachian State (+47) rounded out the field.
Chattanooga’s Jaeger was named SoCon Freshman of the Year while Georgia Southern head coach Larry Mays was voted as the Coach of the Year by his peers.
Joining Blondell on the all-conference team were Lethem, Chattanooga’s Rickett, Rende and Jaeger, Davidson’s Michael Saari, Furman’s Daniel Bowden, Western Carolina Andres Cuenca, Wofford’s Garrett Medeiros and UNC Greensboro’s Will Bowman.
Jaeger headlined the inaugural all-freshman team along with Anthony Aloi and Matt Broome of Furman, Jackson Taylor of Davidson and Will Almand of UNC Greensboro.
Top-10 Individuals
1. Drew Lethem, Georgia Southern 66-72-72=210 -6
T2. Tanner Briele, Western Carolina 69-71-71=211 -5
T2. Fredrik Qvicker, Chattanooga 69-72-70=211 -5
4. Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern 71-70-71=212 -4
T5. Ricky Stout, Western Carolina 69-75-69=213 -3
T5. Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga 71-71-71=213 -3
T5. Will Bowman, UNC Greensboro 72-68-73=213 -3
T8. Drew Perry, Wofford 76-69-69=214 -2
T8. Ben Rickett, Chattanooga 72-71-71=214 -2
T8. Daniel Bowden, Furman 71-70-73=214 -2
T8. Derek Rende, Chattanooga 67-73-74=214 -2
Final Team Standings
1. Chattanooga 279-287-286=852 -12
2. Georgia Southern 278-292-284=854 -10
3. Western Carolina 286-293-285=864 E
4. Furman 286-286-300=872 +8
5. Wofford 306-287-286=879 +15
6. Elon 295-297-291=883 +19
7. Davidson 299-296-299=894 +30
8. UNC Greensboro 293-301-307=901 +37
9. College of Charleston 293-303-307=903 +39
10. Samford 302-302-302=906 +42
11. Appalachian State 300-311-300=911 +47
All-Conference
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Derek Rende, Chattanooga
Ben Rickett, Chattanooga
Michael Saari, Davidson
Daniel Bowden, Furman
Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern
Drew Lethem, Georgia Southern
Will Bowman, UNC Greensboro
Andres Cuenca, Western Carolina
Garrett Medeiros, Wofford
All-Freshman
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Jackson Taylor, Davidson
Anthony Aloi, Furman
Matt Broome, Furman
Will Almand, UNC Greensboro
Player of the Year
Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Coach of the Year
Larry Mays, Georgia Southern