MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – On the final day of the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships South/Southeast Regional, the Carson-Newman men's golf team moved up two spots to finish in a tie for ninth with final score of 22-over 886.
The final day on the course was also the best day of the competition for the Eagles, as their mark of 291 was good enough for three-over, six strokes better than Tuesday's 297. The tie for ninth represents C-N's best finish in an NCAA Regional in program history and they also bettered three schools ranked in the top 10.
"I'm extremely proud," said coach Randy Wylie. "Our guys made a great run and got into a tie for seventh, but couldn't quite close the deal. The team played with a lot of heart. They had fun and it was a tough but interesting finish to a season where we won a conference championship and had the best finish we've ever had in an NCAA [Regional]."
For Tom Forster, his one-over 73 allowed the Oundle, England native to tie for eighth. This represented the best finish by an Eagle at regionals since at least 2010 and also marked the fifth consecutive tournament Forster has finished in the top 10. The freshman's day, like those of his teammates began on the back nine and he started by reeling off seven consecutive pars before bogeying the 17th and making the turn at one-over. On the front nine, he posted an even score, closing out his day with three birdies in the last five holes and leaving Muscle Shoals with a two-under 214 and his sixth foray into the top 10 this season.
Wednesday was the best day of the competition for Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.), who fired a two-under 70. He was in the red on both the front and back nine, collecting four birdies during his time on the links. This performance pushed the second-year player from 49th all the way up into a tie for 30th. He also was credited with a stroke average of 4.75 on par fives, tied for the second-best at the event.
An even-par 72 from Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.), who was donning the Blue and Orange for the final time, allowed him to shoot up the leaderboard 12 spots and grab a share of 63rd, his best finish in three trips to regionals. Reese's birdie on the 18th put him at even on the back nine, a feat he replicated after the halfway point. Overall, Reese carded a 10-over 226.
The senior was joined in the 63rd spot by Anthony Marcinelli (Knoxville, Tenn.), who rebounded from a double bogey start on day three with birdies on the 11th and 12th and an even score through nine holes. The front nine proved to be more difficult and the sophomore entered the clubhouse with a four-over 76 to his credit to go along with a 54-hole score of +10.
Brady Childers (Granite Falls, N.C.) tied for the team lead with four birdies during round three and closed out the second half of his day at par. His final score of 26-over put him 104th.
This week capped off a season that saw coach Wylie lead the Eagles to their first South Atlantic Conference championship since 2014 and earn a spot in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional for the third time in four seasons.
"I thought this season was an extraordinary effort by a tough group of young men," said Wylie. "They fought through injuries and battled all year and to see them win a conference title and play the way they did at regionals was awesome. Today closed out a really fine career for our captain, Dalton Reese, who played great, as did Jake Headrick. I'm really proud."
Forster narrowly missed out on one of the individual spots for nationals, which went to the top three players not with a team advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in Kissimmee, Fla. Richard Mansell of Nova Southeastern placed fourth with Newberry's Carlos Leandro earned fifth and the final berth went to Ryan Gendron of St. Leo, who tied for sixth. The individual champion in Muscle Shoals was Florida Southern's John Van Der Laan at 15-under.
West Florida lived up to their ranking as the No. 1 team in Division II by winning the regional title, shooting 21-under, 11 shots better than second place Florida Southern. Taking third and joining the Argos and Mocs in moving on to nationals is Lynn University. They completed the event at five-under.
For news and updates on the Carson-Newman men's golf program visit cneagles.com and follow @cnathletics on Twitter.
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