JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – One of the best runs in South Atlantic Conference history occurred during the 2015 fall season for the 22nd-ranked Carson-Newman men's golf team with multiple school records falling in the process.
C-N opened the year at the Kiawah Island Invitational in Kiawah Island, S.C. The Eagles finished 10th after rounds of 296 and 302. Senior Nicklaus Kennedy (London, Ontario, Canada) led the Eagles with a tie for 13th after shooting an one-over total of 145.
The Eagles finished in the top-10 in the first four tournaments of the season and fired the 10th-lowest round in SAC history with a first round score of 277 at the Saint Leo Men's Invitational at Lake Jovita Golf Club.
During the Saint Leo event, senior Andrew Hall (Knoxville, Tenn.) set a new SAC record with a three-round total of 202 to finish in a tie for second. Hall's three-round score was two strokes lower than the previous record set by Catawba's Todd Sapere in 1997. The Knoxville-native shot a 65 during the second round, which was his career-low, and tied the third-lowest round in conference history.
The senior then won his next event at the North Georgia Fall Invitational at Achasta Golf Club in Dahlonega, Ga. and tied his conference record in the process and the Eagles team tied for second in the team competition. Hall carded consecutive scores of 66 in the second and third rounds for the win; the 66's tied for the fourth-lowest score in SAC history and the 10th-best in the duration of the SAC's existence. Senior Jace Devault (Bluff City, Tenn.) joined Hall on the All-Tournament team for the UNG Fall Invite as the senior shot a career-low 68 in the final round. Carson-Newman tied its season-low round of 277 during the Tuesday round to stay in championship contention.
The Eagles won their next event the State Farm Intercollegiate that was played at Woodlake Golf Club in Tazewell, Tenn. Carson-Newman entered the final round two strokes off the leaders Lincoln Memorial in second-place, but beat the host Railsplitters by a stroke to win the program's first tournament in over a year. Hall tallied back-to-back rounds of 67 in the final two rounds for the win; junior Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.) fired his career-low round with a score of 65 in the final round to help propel the Eagles to the win and finished fourth at the event. Reese's score of 65 tied Hall for the team's low round of the fall. Freshman Alex Hutson (Newport, Tenn.) competed as an individual and tallied his first sub-70 round with a 69 in the third round.
Carson-Newman finished 12th in the final tournament of the season at the McDonough Cup at Rio Pinar Country Club in Florida. The tournament's field had 12 of the top-25 teams in the nation at the time and four of the top-five teams in the nation. Devault led the Eagles with a score of two-over 216 and tied for 30th.
Hall has an average score of 69.57 strokes per round, which ranks second in the nation. The senior recorded seven rounds shot in the 60's. The Knoxvillian finished the fall with a stroke average of 69.6, which is almost one full stroke lower than the South Atlantic Conference season-low of 70.5 set by fellow Eagle Gavin Hay in 2006. C-N's Jonathan Kim-Moss, a former first-team All-SAC member, has the second-lowest record in the conference with a 70.6 average in 2013.
During the duration of the fall season, C-N only shot one team round in the 300's and finished with three rounds in the 270's. Six players on the team registered career-lows in the fall and five of the team members have stroke averages below 74 over the duration of the five tournaments.
Follow along with all of the latest Carson-Newman men's golf news during the winter and into the 2016 calendar year on cneagles.com.
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