VIDEO: Randy Wylie Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn – Just one week after taking the course against some of the best teams in the nation, the 21st ranked Carson-Newman men's golf team will return to action in the State Farm Intercollegiate in Tazewell, Tenn.
"We're the defending champions," Golf Coach Randy Wylie said, "and we're playing at Lincoln Memorial's home course. It's going to be a great challenge. They're a highly ranked team as usual. We'd like to take them down again. We were able to do that last year and hopefully, we'll be able to repeat that performance."
Carson-Newman is returning to Tazewell one year after coming home with the trophy, as they shot a -14, 850 during last year's Intercollegiate, just one stroke ahead of LMU. Andrew Hall led the way, finishing at -10 and in third place while helping his team collect the hardware.
The Eagles finished 13th in their most recent event, The National Preview, which was held this past week in Orlando. They competed in a field with 12 other ranked teams, including the top five teams in Division II.
Freshman Tom Forster (Oundle, England) has not played like a newcomer to this point in his C-N career, as he's posted the Eagles' best score in both their tournaments this fall. He began the year with a seventh place finish at the St. Leo Invitational by shooting three under par and he was one-over at The National Preview.
Dalton Reese (Warrenton, Ga.) has gotten his senior year off to a solid start. He finished tied for 28th in Orlando, shooting two-over par after posting his sixth career top 10 finish at St. Leo., where he carded a two-under over 54 holes. In four of the six rounds Reese has played this fall, he has finished at or below par and he fired a career-low 65 in the final round of last year's Intercollegiate, earning a fourth place finish.
Playing in his third tournament of the fall semester is sophomore Jake Headrick (Maryville, Tenn.), who shot five over at The National Preview after a solid showing in Carson-Newman's first event. Headrick's time at the St. Leo Invitational included a first round 69, which is tied with Forster for the lowest round by an Eagle this fall. The Maryville native has shot one-over par or better in four of his six rounds through two tournaments.
Fintan McKenna (Westhill, UK) will be playing in his third consecutive competition and is trying to improve on an 88th place finish last week. The best round McKenna has to his credit is a second round 75 he posted at during his team's first event.
Playing in his initial event of the fall is sophomore Alex Hutson (Newport, Tenn.), who hit the links for C-N during last year's State Farm Intercollegiate and put up his best score of the season. Huston's one-over 217 included a third round 69 and put him in 16th place. He'll be looking to duplicate that success this week.
"We have three guys in the lineup that've played extensively and had success on this course," Wylie said. "Alex Hutson had his best collegiate tournament there last year. That could really help us in that fourth or fifth spot. We'll have two freshman playing there for the first time, but they'll have a lot of help from their teammates."
The State Farm Intercollegiate begins on Monday, as each golfer plays 36 holes, and finishes up on Tuesday with 18 more. You can visit cneagles.com for a rundown of the goings-on for both days in Tazewell.
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