MELBOURNE, Fla. – Playing in the final day of the Panther Invitational, the Carson-Newman men's golf team put together their best round of the competition, shooting an 11-over 299 to finish in sixth place at 44-over on Tuesday at the Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Fla.

"Good job this week by the Eagles," said men's golf coach Randy Wylie. "The guys played solid again in tough conditions against the very best competition. Anthony Marcinelli (Knoxville, Tenn.) had a standout round of 71."

Coach Wylie's squad sliced seven shots off their score from the second round on Tuesday and finished six strokes ahead of the No. 25 team in the country, Columbus State, and 11 shots up on No. 16 St. Leo University.

Tom Forster totaled six birdies over the final 18 holes and played even golf on the front nine. He entered the clubhouse with a two-over 74 and finished the competition tied for 12^th. The native of Oundle, England was eight-under on par fives over the last two days, tied for lowest score on Duran's longest holes. He also tied for the fifth-most birdies with 11, including a tourney-high six on the final day.

Also tying for 12^th after 54 holes was Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.). The sophomore was one-over on Tuesday after 12 holes, but four bogeys over the last six led to a final mark of five-over. Headrick's stroke average of 4.17 on par fours was fifth-best at the event.

Marcinelli had an outstanding final round and was one of just seven golfers in red numbers and only four student-athletes player better than Marcinelli on the last day. The sophomore recorded a one-under 71 and he secured that score by birdieing the 18^th, one of four birdies he posted on the day, tied for the seventh most. His score also ties for the ninth-best round of golf played by Wylie's team this season.

The day got off to a solid start for Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.), who notched a pair of birdies on the front nine to finish at even par. He stumbled a bit over the final nine, shooting five-over and for the tournament, he tied for 40^th.

Brady Childers (Granite Fall, N.C.) concluded a difficult afternoon with a score of nine-over and will leave Florida tied for 61^st. He did collect 32 pars over the competition's three rounds, tied for 16^th. Junior Ben Kennard (Dandridge, Tenn.) participated in the event as an individual and finished tied for 75^th at 30-over.

Topping the individual leaderboard was Florida Southern's John Vanderlann, who put up a score of four-under on Tuesday, tying for the best score in the final round. Barry University's Niclas Weiland placed second at one-under with Mateo Gomez from Lynn University in third.

Vanderlann helped lead the fourth-ranked Mocs to victory, as they concluded Tuesday at 18-over, three strokes better than No. 2 Lynn University and No. 12 Florida Tech, the tourney's host school. Rounding out the top five were No. 3 Barry University and Eastern Florida State.

The next time out for the Eagles is on March 19^th – 20^th, when they journey to nearby Sevierville, Tenn. for the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate. For news and updates on C-N men's golf, visit cneagles.com.

-CN-