Gibson leads Blue and Gold with 12th-place finish

KAUA’I, Hawaii (Nov. 7, 2012) – The ETSU men’s golf team entered the third and final round four strokes behind team-leading Baylor on Wednesday, but despite pulling within a shot of the lead early in the round, the Bucs couldn’t overcome the strong play from the 49th-ranked Bears as the Blue and Gold finished fourth at the Warrior Wave Intercollegiate from the Makai Golf Club.

The Bucs began the day tied for third with North Carolina State at 5-under, but after getting off to a strong start, ETSU took a step back later in the round en route to posting its fourth-place finish after totaling a three-round score of 2-under-par 862 on the 7,223-yard, par-72 course from the St. Regis Princeville Resort. ETSU quickly moved up the board to start the day as the Blue and Gold went from five to 11-under-par and sat a shot behind Baylor; however, things unraveled in a hurry as the Bucs ended the day at 3-over-par.

While ETSU didn’t sustain the solid play, Baylor pulled away from the 16-team field and won the team championship after registering a 54-hole score of 18-under-par 846 in the inaugural tournament. The Bears won the tournament by seven strokes over second-place North Carolina State and by 12 shots over UC Irvine.

In the end, the Blue and Gold finished ahead of four ranked programs – placing higher than No. 35 San Diego State, No. 39 Indiana, No. 46 San Diego, and No. 48 Georgia Southern.

Individually, sophomore Scott Gibson (Southerness, Scotland) paced the Bucs for the second time in the last three tournaments. Gibson shot a 1-under-par 215 for the tournament and finished 12th overall. Meanwhile, freshmen Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) and Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) tied for 13th after ending the week at even-par. Kristjansson got off to an explosive start on Wednesday by birdying the first three holes, but followed things up with consecutive bogeys on No. 7 and 8 and completed the day at 1-over on the final 10 holes.

North Carolina State’s Albin Choi entered the third round with the lead and withstood a late charge by Baylor’s Filippo Zucchetti. Choi – the 41st-ranked golfer according to Golfstat – won the individual title by a stroke after carding a 10-under 206 for the tournament. Zucchetti moved from seventh to second after firing a 6-under 66 on Wednesday.

The Bucs wrapped up their fall season this week in Hawaii and return to action when ETSU opens the spring season at the Sea Best Invitational on Monday, Feb. 4 in Jacksonville, Fla.

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