CONOVER, N.C. --- The Tusculum College men's golf team made a furious final round charge, but came up five shots short in the final day of the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Championship, held this week at the Jones Course of the Rock Barn Golf & Spa.
The Pioneers finished runner-up to 15th-ranked Newberry College as the Wolves won their third SAC title with a team score of 900 over the 54-hole tournament, including Tuesday's 309. Tusculum, who was in fifth place and 23 shots behind Newberry when play began Tuesday morning, posted a final-round best 291 as TC finished with 905.
Tusculum leapfrogged three teams as the Pioneers garnered runner-up honors at the SAC Championship for a third time in school history.
Lincoln Memorial University finished third with 918, followed by Catawba College (927), Carson-Newman College (928), Wingate University (938), Lenoir-Rhyne University (951), Anderson University (961), Brevard College (976) and Mars Hill College (1012).
Newberry's Daniel Stanley captured SAC medalist honors for a second year in a row as he finished with a three-round score of 219, including an even-par 72 on the final day. Wingate's Clifford Blanquicet and Brad Cline of Catawba tied for second place with 221. Tusculum sophomore Nick York tied for fourth place with LMU's Jamie Chapman with 222.
York was one of only two players on Tuesday to shoot in red numbers as he carded a one-under par 71, accounted for three birdies and two bogeys in his final 18 and earned a spot on the SAC All-Tournament Team for a second consecutive season.
York wasn't the low Pioneer of the day though as junior Derek Cantrell held that title, posting a two-under par 70 to finish with 223 and sole possession of sixth place. Cantrell had four birdies and two bogeys on his Tuesday scorecard, including three consecutive birdies on holes six, seven and eight to fire a three-under par 33 on his outward nine.
Chandler Gruenmeier (Newberry) and Gavin Hay (Carson-Newman) tied for seventh with 227; Liam Ashby (Carson-Newman) placed ninth with 228, while Ben Lown (Newberry) posted a 229 to finish 10th and round out this year's SAC All-Tournament Team.
Tusculum senior Lawson George finished tied for 16th place with 233, while senior teammate Luke Fullen placed 22nd with 236, including his final round 73. Fullen's front nine included three bogeys and an eagle on the par 5 seventh hole. His inward nine was more consistent with a birdie and a bogey to shoot 36 on the back.
TC sophomore David Talley tied for 24th place at 238, including his final round 77 to move up 10 spots on the leaderboard.
With the SAC Championship, Newberry earns the league's automatic berth to next month's NCAA Division II Tournament. Tusculum will have to play the waiting game to see if the Pioneers receive an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason, which would be the program's first in school history.
- SAC -
South Atlantic Conference Men's Golf Championship
Pl. Team 1st 2nd 3rd Total
1 Newberry 287 304 309 900
2 TUSCULUM 303 311 291 905
3 Lincoln Memorial 300 305 313 918
4 Catawba 301 312 314 927
5 Carson-Newman 310 313 305 928
6 Wingate 304 307 327 938
7 Lenoir-Rhyne 314 310 327 951
8 Anderson 312 323 326 961
9 Brevard 309 342 325 976
10 Mars Hill 331 338 343 1012
Tusculum Individual Scores
Pl. Player 1st 2nd 3rd Total
T4 Nick York 75 76 71 222
6 Derek Cantrell 79 74 70 223
T16 Lawson George 77 76 80 233
22 Luke Fullen 78 85 73 236
T24 David Talley 73 88 77 238
