JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men's golf team will round out its regular season schedule with the two-day Tennessee River Ramble hosted by Lincoln Memorial University at Tennessee National Golf Club in Loudon, Tenn.
The Eagles are playing in their fourth tournament of the spring season and coach Randy Wylie is looking for the team's first solid performance of the season. Freshman Ben Kennard (Corryton, Tenn.) and junior Andrew Hall (Knoxville, Tenn.) have both recorded top-five finishes, but according to Wylie, the team has yet to put together a solid performance.
"We had some interesting tournaments, some real good individual finishes. We need to play better as a team. Andrew Hall played at Sevierville last week and finished third in a big Division I tournament; that was pretty good, but as an overall team, not quite as consistent as we need to be," Wylie said. "Ben Kennard had a top-five and that is the best finish by far from one of our freshman this year. We just have to keep building and getting consistent as a group."
The River Ramble will be played one of the best courses in the state of Tennessee. Designed by British Open winner Greg Norman, the course spans 7,393-yards through Loudon County on the banks of the Tennessee River. The course plays a par-72.
"It's such a high quality golf course. It's well over 7,000 yards, a Greg Norman design. It's just kind of the crown jewel of East Tennessee. It's one of the top three courses in the state of Tennessee. Real championships course and it will prepare them for big events in the future to play on a course of that kind of quality. It's going to be quite a challenge."
Eight Eagles will be traveling to participate in the tournament this week. The team will consist of: junior Corey Bray (Caryville, Tenn.), Rafael Carrillo (Guadalajara, Mexico), senior Jack Gillespie (Knoxville, Tenn.), junior Andrew Hall (Knoxville, Tenn.), junior Nathan Hodge (Jefferson City, Tenn.), freshman Ben Kennard (Corryton, Tenn.), junior Nicklaus Kennedy (London, Ontario) and sophomore Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.).
Carrillo and Gillespie are playing in their first competitive rounds for Carson-Newman since September's Smokey Mountain Intercollegaite.
"We are still trying to put together our final starting lineup for the conference championship and those guys kind of know they are in the mix for that, so we are heading into postseason so it's time to step up. That's what I really want to see. Some guys have been working really hard; they need to actually come through in a tournament, not just in practice. We have to kind of find out who the gamers are and who is going to be there and the guys we can count on at the conference championships."
The 36-hole Tennessee River Ramble will be played on Monday and Tuesday and kicks off with 18 holes Monday. A run down of each day's round will be available on cneagles.com.
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