Furman ties for 10th at Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – Sophomore Wehman Hopke (E) fired a 68 on Sunday to lead Furman in the final round of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the par-72, 7,147-yard Blackthorn Club at The Ridges.

Hopke, who finished the tournament tied for 26th, teed off of No. 10 and registered back-to-back birdies on his first two holes and an additional birdie on 14. On the front nine, he recorded consecutive birdies on holes 4 and 5.

Freshman Bryce Howell (-3) led Furman on the individual leaderboard, finishing tied for 18th overall after carding a 75 in Sunday’s final round. Howell, who notched birdies on 14 and 16, concluded the tournament 11 strokes behind individual medalist Scott Vincent (-13) of Virginia Tech, who fired at 67 in the tournament’s opening round then carded 68s in each of the next two rounds.

Junior Michael Borton (+4) shot a 76 with three birdies on Sunday to tie for 40th overall, while sophomore Preston Heyward (+7) fired his best round of the season to place 53rd, carding a 70 with a birdie on 10 to open the round and recording consecutive birdies on 8 and 9 to end the tournament.  Sophomore Preston Cole (+17) tallied a 74 with two birdies in Sunday’s final round to place 69th.

No. 14 Virginia (-13), which entered Sunday’s final round in third place, shot a 275 in the final round to take a two-stroke win over 13th-ranked Virginia Tech (-11). No. 17 Kent State (-20) placed third, while ETSU (-12) and Wake Forest (-8) rounded out the top five.

The Paladins will begin competition in the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic in Duluth, Ga., beginning Monday morning.  A shotgun start is slated for 8:30 a.m., with Furman teeing off of holes 5 through 9.  Round two will begin Monday afternoon at 1 p.m., with a second shotgun start from the same holes.