Sunday, March 23, 2003

STATESBORO, Ga. (March 23, 2003) - After some early struggles in the first two rounds of the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational Saturday at the Forest Heights Country Club, the East Tennessee State University men's golf team put together a strong showing on Sunday to climb from 13th to 9th with a team score of 9-over-par 873.

The Bucs finished ahead of teams such as highly-ranked Augusta State, in-state rival Tennessee, and fellow Southern Conference member Georgia Southern, in a event that featured four Top 10 teams. The Bucs were bolstered Sunday by a team-best, 6-under-par 66 by sophomore Chase Baldwin (Brandon, Fla.), a 2-under 70 from senior James Johnson (Barbados) and a 1-under 71 by sophomore Cennydd Mills (Cardiff, Wales).

Mills was the highest ETSU finisher, placing in a tie for 26th (74-72-71=217), while Johnson finished tied for 35th (70-79-70=219 +3). True freshman Derek McNamara (Galway, Ireland) placed in a tie for 41st (75-73-74=222 +6), sophomore Jeremy Hobson (Thonotosassa, Fla.) ended the event tied for 54th (72-78-73=223 +7), and Baldwin rounded out Bucs' scoring with a 62nd-place finish (80-81-66=227 +11).

Fifth-ranked Wake Forest won the team championship, holding off No. 1-ranked Clemson by three strokes thanks to a team score of 20-under-par 844. Individually, Wake's Brent Wanner won by three strokes (75-67-65=207 -9), while Clemson's Jack Ferguson and D.J. Trahan, Wake Forest's Bill Hass and Georgia's Kevin Kisner all finished tied in second with scores of 6-under 210.

Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational
Forest Heights Country Club (Statesboro, Ga.)
Dates: 03/22 - 03/23 (Today: 03-23-2003)
Par: 72; Yardage: 6,962

Fin.	School	Scores
1	Wake Forest	285-284-275=844	-20
2	Clemson	281-286-280=847	-17
3	Georgia	289-287-278=854	-10
4	Florida	287-288-283=858	-6
5	Auburn	286-285-289=860	-4
6	North Carolina State	288-287-286=861	-3
7	South Carolina	293-287-289=869	+5
8	North Carolina	293-288-291=872	+8
9	East Tennessee State	291-302-280=873	+9
10	Augusta State	290-296-291=877	+13
11	Georgia Southern	299-292-288=879	+15
12	Lousiana State	296-297-287=880	+16
13	Tennessee	290-296-297=883	+19
14	Duke	293-297-297=887	+23
15	Ohio State	302-305-292=889	+35

Individual Results

1	Brent WanneR, Wake Forest	75-67-65=207	-9
2	Jack Ferguson, Clemson	72-67-71=210	-6
	Bill Hass, Wake Forest	71-70-69=210	-6
	Kevin Kisner, Georgia	69-74-67=210	-6
	D.J. Trahan, Clemson	70-72-68=210	-6

ETSU individual scores

T 26	Cennydd Mills	74-72-71=217	+1
T 35	James Johnson	70-79-70=219	+3
T 41	Derek McNamara	75-73-74=222	+6
T 54	Jeremy Hobson	72-78-73=223	+7
T 62	Chase Baldwin	80-81-66=227	+11