VIDEO: Randy Wylie Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Coming off of a third place finish at the McDonough Cup and closing out the fall as Golfstat's No. 15 team in the nation, the Carson-Newman men's golf team now prepares for a six-event spring slate.

"We played really consistently as far as our finishes in each tournament, not necessarily day to day," head coach Randy Wylie said of his team's fall performance. "We beat most of the teams ranked behind us and didn't really beat the teams in front of us.

"It's a tournament sport and playing well in the spring is just critical, so I feel good going into the spring that our best golf is in front of us."

The first three events of 2018 will take the reigning South Atlantic Conference Champions to the Sunshine State in a span of four weeks, starting with the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate at Fleming Island Golf Club in Orange Park, Fla. on Feb. 12 and 13 for their sixth straight appearance in the event. Wylie's team finished at a tie for fifth last year after a second place finish in 2016, the team's best outing in the event.

The Saint Leo Invitational on Feb. 26 and 27 will mark the team's third appearance in the tournament held at the Lake Jovita Country Club in Dade City, Fla. The event was held early in the fall the previous two years with the Eagles landing at seventh in 2015 before improving to fifth place to open the 2016-17 season.

The trio of Florida outings concludes with a second-straight trip to the Panther Invitational, hosted by the Florida Institute of Technology from March 4-6. Last year's inaugural showing saw the Eagles finish at the sixth place spot on the leaderboard out of 15 teams.

"To play the first three events in Florida on some good courses against some great teams, some of the best teams in the country, it's going to be really exciting," Wylie mentioned. "I think that excitement and experience for some of our new guys from the fall will really help us to have a great spring."

After a two week break, the Eagles will look to defend their Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate title from March 18-20 at the Sevierville Golf Club. The event is once again hosted by Tennessee Tech. Last year, the Eagles led the field of nine teams through all three days of competition to finish at 17-under with an 847 total, an impressive 25 strokes better than No. 18 Lincoln Memorial who finished at second. Jake Headrick was the individual champion after a final round of 66, the tournament's best final day score and tied for the best 18-hole performance through the competition. He finished with a 205 total with teammate Tom Forster close behind him at 207 for a second place showing.

Before the highly anticipated SAC Championship, C-N will stick around East Tennessee at the beginning of April for its fourth appearance in the Tennessee River Rumble and the Tennessee National Golf Club in Loudon. The Eagles took second place in the event in 2017 with a 292 total in the lone round that was played due to inclement weather. Forster led the Orange and Blue charge with a one-under round of 71, good enough for a fifth place finish.

"Sevierville River Club is just fantastic, the golf course there is awesome, and then we go to what may be the best course in the state, potentially, at Tennessee National," Wylie said. "Our guys get so excited about playing those events and we've played really well in the past."

Wylie's squad anticipates to finish the season defending its title at the SAC Championship from April 8-10 at the Cobbs Glen Country Club in Anderson, S.C. The Eagles led the pack through the first day last year before flooding at the Country Club of Salisbury forced the second day to be cancelled, making the event a 27-hole competition compared to the 54 that were initially scheduled. C-N and Coker College tied with a total score of 431 at the conclusion of the final nine holes, sending the two teams into a sudden-death playoff.  A chip-in by Anthony Marcinelli on the fourth playoff hole closed out the deal for C-N, giving them the title. The win gave them an automatic bid in the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship South/Southeast Regional where they finished in a tie for ninth place.

Three of the five Eagles who participated in the 2017 Championship – Forster, Headrick and Marcinelli – return this season.

"Those three are really experienced, great players, kind of All-Conference level players, potentially All-American level players," Wylie mentioned of the trio. "I expect them to be the great players that they are. They're going to be highly motivated and really looking to try to defend the conference championship and use that to springboard into the NCAA Championship."

Feb. 12-13      2018 Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate                            Fleming Island Golf Club-Orange Park, FL

Feb. 26-27      Saint Leo Invitational                                                     Lake Jovita Country Club - Dade City, Fla.

Mar. 4-6          Panther Invitational                                                       Duran Golf Club - Melbourne, Fla.

Mar. 18-20     Bobby Nichols Memorial Invitational                        Sevierville Golf Club-Sevierville, Tenn.

Apr. 3-4           Tennessee River Rumble                                              Tennessee National Golf Club-Loudon, Tenn.

Apr. 15-17      South Atlantic Conference Championship               Cobbs Glen Country Club - Anderson, S.C.