VIDEO: Randy Wylie Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Just one event sits between Carson-Newman and its winter hiatus as the Eagles head to Memphis, Tenn. this week for the South Region Preview, hosted by Christian Brothers University, at the Irene Country Club.
This event not only wraps up the first half of the season but it closes the book on back-to-back weeks of competition. The Eagles are looking to build off of their sixth-place finish at the Queens Invitational where the third round brought the best outing of the week at two-under.
"The whole 36-hole day, we were really disappointed that we didn't play better," Carson-Newman coach Randy Wylie said. "We had tough weather the second day. Instead of being down and giving in, we fought back and shot a two-under par round in that the last round which was one of the best rounds of the day. The guys just really showed that they care and they have confidence in that they can bounce back from adversity."
Wylie will take the same top four for the third-straight event with a slight variation in the order.
Alex Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.) moves up into the top slot for the Orange and Blue after going three-under at the Queens Invitational with a share of ninth-place, his second top-10 finish of the season. His outing moved his scoring average on the year to an even 71.0.
Sliding down to the No. 2 this week is Tom Forster (Oundle, England) following a tie for 13th last week. His two-under performance in Kannapolis shaved his scoring average down to 70.9.
Fintan McKenna (Aberdeen, Scotland) will play at the three-seed for the second time this season, the previous occurrence being at the North Georgia Fall Invitational at the beginning of October. The senior is averaging a 72.1 round through nine evets with one top-10 performance on the year.
The No. 4 for C-N this week is Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) taking on the position for a third time this season. Starting in every event for C-N this year, the sophomore holds a 72.7 scoring average.
Making his starting debut this week at the No. 5 is Zach Young (Crossville, Tenn.). The sophomore has not seen playing time with the travel team since the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate last season where he finished in 82nd. His last time on the links this season came with the B-Team at the Walters State Fall Classic where he finished second at five-under, just three shots out of first.
C-N gets to take one individual to the event, that being Ethan Rimmer (Knoxville, Tenn.). The freshman has played in five rounds this season for a 74.8 scoring average. His last trip with the travel squad came at the North Georgia Fall invitational where he went 10-over to tie for 61st. He tied for seventh at the Walters State Fall Classic with the b-Team, carding a four-over outing.
The trip to Memphis marks the first event played in West Tennessee in Wylie's tenure and the first played in the Volunteer State this season.
Christian Brothers will be hosting the 2020 South/Southeast Regional come May, giving the teams in the field a small glimpse of what they could see in the early parts of the national tournament.
The two-day event kicks off Monday morning for two rounds of play followed by one last round on Tuesday. Live scoring will be found on Golfstat.