Friday, February 1, 2008

TUSCULUM MEN’S GOLF OPENS SPRING SEASON IN FLORIDA

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Hoping to build upon a successful fall season, the Tusculum College men’s golf team returns to action this Monday and Tuesday when the Pioneers compete at the Outback Steakhouse Invitational, held at the Hombre Golf Club in Panama City, Fla.

Tusculum, under the guidance of veteran head coach Bob Dibble, captured team championship honors at two of its four tournaments in the fall. The Pioneers won the Anderson Invitational for a second straight year, while also repeating as winners of the Tusculum Fall Classic.

Leading the charge for Tusculum is Johnson City, Tenn. senior Chris Wynne. The 2007 All-South Atlantic Conference honoree posted a 70.63 scoring average in his first four events of the 2007-08 campaign. The Science Hill High School graduate finished in the top 10 in all four tournaments, including a pair of runner-up showings at the Anderson Invitational and the TC Classic. Wynne shot par or better in six of his eight rounds in the fall, including a five-under par 66 in the opening round of the Tusculum Classic at Link Hills Country Club.

Not far off Wynne’s pace is Knoxville, Tenn. junior Chase Carroll. Carroll, an All-SAC standout, is second on the squad with his 71.00 stroke average. The 2007 SAC Tournament Champion added one more medalist honor to his already impressive resume, by winning the Tusculum Classic for a second year in a row. He also tied for second at the Anderson Invitational and has shot under par in his last three competitive rounds.

Greeneville sophomore Matt McIntyre is third on the squad with his 73.50 scoring average in his two fall tournaments. The Greeneville High School graduate tied for sixth place at the TC Classic, carding a two-over par 144.

Lawson George, a freshman from Knoxville, Tenn., is having an outstanding rookie campaign at Tusculum, qualifying for all four fall events and posting a 75.63 stroke average. The Halls High School product has finished in the top 25 in three events, including a 12^th place showing at Anderson, where he opened his collegiate career with a four-under par 68.

Jake Scheffers, a junior from Greeneville, has posted a 75.50 scoring average in his four tournament appearances. Scheffers finished the fall very strong, posting two top 15 finishes, including a 10^th place showing at the TC Classic where he fired rounds of 72 and 73. He also posted a one-under par 70 in the final round of the Lincoln Memorial Invitational. In his last two events, he averaged 72.50 strokes per round.

Darren Christie, a junior from Paisley, Scotland, played in the final two tournaments in the fall and will be competing with the Tusculum five in Panama City. Christie, the 2007 Tusculum Invitational medalist, recorded a 75.75 scoring average in the fall.

Glenn Vicary (Oak Ridge, Tenn./Oak Ridge HS), Will Loggins (Crossville, Tenn./Cumberland County HS) and Patrick Clapp (Knoxville, Tenn./Central HS) will be looked to contribute heading down the home stretch of the spring campaign.

The Pioneers will be competing in six tournaments this spring, culminated by the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Championship in Hickory, N.C. Following the Outback Invitational, Tusculum will have a month to prepare for the Richard Rendleman Invitational (Mar. 3-4) at the Country Club of Salisbury in North Carolina. Following that event, the Pioneers return home to host the Tusculum Invitational on Mar. 8-9 where TC is the defending champion.

Tusculum returns to Salisbury, N.C. on Mar. 17-18 to play at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational at Crescent Golf Club. The Pioneers final tune-up before the SAC Tournament is on Apr. 5-6 as they travel to White Lake, N.C. for the Carolina Sands Intercollegiate.

The NCAA Division II Atlantic/Southeast Super Regional will be held in Belmont, North Carolina on May 5-7, with the D-II National Championship to be contested, May 20-23 in Houston, Texas.

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