GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College men's golf team will be competing at the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Championship, this Monday and Tuesday at the Etowah Valley Country Club & Golf Resort in Etowah, N.C. The Pioneers will be vying for its first SAC Championship as play begins Monday morning in the two-day, 54-hole championship with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

The Pioneers, under the direction of head coach Bob Dibble, have recorded six top 10 finishes this season, including four in the top five. TC captured its 24th tournament title under Coach Dibble by winning the Tusculum Fall Classic this past September. The Pioneers posted a runner-up finish at the Tusculum Invitational in March, while also finishing third at the Lincoln Memorial University Fall Invitational in October.

Rookie David Talley is enjoying one of the finest freshman campaigns in school history. The Bristol, Va. native has accounted for the best scoring average on the team at 74.9 strokes per round. He has captured medalist honors twice in his five events, including first place finishes at the Tusculum Fall Classic and the LMU Fall Invitational. Talley has recorded three top 10 finishes before a mid-season injury sidelined him for most of the spring.

Greeneville, Tenn. junior Luke Fullen is second on the squad with his 75.33 scoring average. The Walters State College transfer has tallied a fine first season at Tusculum, finishin in the top 20 three times, including two top 10 showings. He finished third at the Tusculum Invitational where he carded back-to-back rounds of 69 to post 138 (-4). Fullen tied for 10th place at the TC Fall Classic and placed 12th at the LMU Fall Invitational.

Freshman Nick York is third on the team with his 76.20 scoring average. The Kingsport, Tenn. product has qualified for all eight events this year and tied for seventh at the LMU Fall Invitational with 74-69=143 (-1). He tied for 14th at the Anderson University Invitational and followed with a 22nd place finish at the TC Fall Classic.

Junior Lawson George brings veteran experience with him to Etowah, having played in the SAC Championship in each of the last two years. In the 2008 SAC Championship, the Knoxville, Tenn. native tied for 11th place, shooting 73-71-82=226 in the tournament played in Hickory, N.C. At last year's SAC Championship at Etowah Valley, George posted 75-76-76=227 and tied for 21st place. He has a 77.00 stroke average this season, but has a 72.80 scoring average in his last five rounds. George finished 10th at the Richard Rendleman Invitational, where he shot an even par 71, in the weather-abbreviated tournament. He tied for 14th place at the Tusculum Invitational and placed 15th at the Outback Steakhouse Intercollegiate in February.

Glenn Vicary is the lone senior competing in the SAC Championship for the Pioneers this week. The Oak Ridge, Tenn. native is having his best season of his collegiate career, posting a 77.23 scoring average. In his last event, he tied for ninth place at the Tusculum Invitational, shooting 143, including a career-low 69 (-2) in the opening round of the tournament. He tied for fifth place at the Tusculum Fall Classic, shooting 73-70=143.

The Pioneers have enjoyed a very competitive history in the 10 previous SAC Championships they have challenged for. Tusculum has finished in the top half of the field in seven of the 10 previous championships, including seven of the last eight. Tusculum finished runner-up in the 2005 and 2007 SAC Championships and placed third in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003. TC finished fourth at last year's league championship, led by two-time SAC Tournament MVP Chase Carroll.

Live scoring of the tournament will be provided by the South Atlantic Conference at www.thesac.com and www.tusculumpioneers.com.

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