VIDEO: Randy Wylie Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With the spring semester underway, the Carson-Newman men's golf team is preparing to return to action for the first time since early November when they tee off in the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday at the Fleming Island Golf Club in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Eagles played in four tournaments during the fall, with their highest finish coming in the State Farm Intercollegiate in October, where C-N placed second. This event is the first of six that C-N is scheduled to participate in over the next three months, ending with the South Atlantic Conference Championships in April.
Carson-Newman opens the fall with the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate for the fifth straight season and they'll be looking to build upon last year's performance, when they came in second. Both Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.) and Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.) shot below par and finished in the top 10. Reese's three under 210 placed him third while Headrick was only two shots behind his teammate and tied for sixth. This year's event will consist of 36 holes on Monday, followed by 18 more on Tuesday.
"We're super excited," golf coach Randy Wylie said. "Taking three months off during the winter is hard for everybody. You're so anxious to get your championship season underway and everybody's been practicing and working really hard. We're ready to go."
Headrick, Tom Forster (Oundle, England), Fintan McKenna (Westhill, U.K.) and Reese have played in all four event so far this season and that group will once again be on the course this week. They will be joined by sophomore Anthony Marcinelli (Knoxville, Tenn.), playing in just his second tournament since coming to Mossy Creek.
Reese has filled the role of the veteran very well for Wylie and also served as the most consistent member of the team. The senior has finished in the top 20 in three of the group's four tournaments and owns a stroke average of 72.4, C-N's lowest. His highest score so far this season came in the Eagles' last competition, the McDonough Cup, where he shot a four-over 220, but still finished tied for 18th. Reese also has yet to card a round higher than two-over.
In just his second year, Headrick has become one of C-N's most reliable players. He owns the club's lowest round of the season, with a 68 that he recorded in the State Farm Intercollegiate in Oct. Headrick ended that tournament in sixth, the third time in his college career he's made his way into the top 10.
Despite being only a freshman, Forster's first year in the Blue and Orange has been a successful one thus far. He finished in seventh in his first tournament by shooting three under par and has earned a spot in the top 30 in all four events. He can also lay claim to posting one of C-N's three rounds of golf under 70 this season.
McKenna's stroke average currently sits at 76.9 and his best performance of the fall came in the State Farm Intercollegiate, where he put up a score of six over and finished in 23rd.
Marcinelli will be making his second appearance for Coach Wylie in two years on campus. His only previous experience for the Eagles came in October of 2015, when he finished 31st in the State Farm Intercollegiate.
Brady Childers (Granite Falls, N.C.) will also be in the field, playing as an individual.
The field for the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate includes 14 teams, four of which reside in the South Atlantic Conference. Along with C-N, the Wingate Bulldogs, Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters and Catawba College Catawba Indians will also be present in Jacksonville. LMU currently sits a No. 24 in the national rankings and they are one of three ranked teams in the field, with No. 13 Lander and No. 25 Flagler also among those ready to get on the course.
"It's a solid field," Wylie said. "We're a little bit anxious to go after so much time off. I think we have a chance to win the tournament. Those are our expectations. That's my goal and I think everyone on the team feels the same way."
Results for both days in Jacksonville will be available on cneagles.com, as will a recap of all the action.
