No. 24 ETSU finishes 12th; Meronk tied for 13th

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (Oct. 19, 2014) – For the fifth straight time this season, junior Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) led the ETSU men’s golf team in scoring.

Meronk, who already has two tournament wins under his belt this fall, finished tied for 13th and the 24th-ranked Buccaneers placed 12th as the final round of the U.S. Collegiate Championship concluded on Sunday at the Golf Club of Georgia – Lakeside Course.

The Buccaneer junior fired an even-par 72 on Sunday and Meronk – the 20th-ranked golfer by Golfweek – finished the tournament at 3-under-par 213 (72-69-72).

Overall, ETSU recorded a team score of 9-over in the final round and ended 11-over-par 875 (286-292-297) on the weekend.

Texas held off No. 25 Virginia to claim its first-ever U.S. Collegiate Championship as the ninth-ranked Longhorns edged the Cavaliers by one stroke, 843 to 844. The Longhorns began the day with a one shot lead over Virginia and both teams shot 11-under 277, while Texas claimed the team championship with a 54-hole score of 21-under-par (278-288-277).  

Virginia captured the individual title as Derek Bard leaped teammate Denny McCarthy for medalist honors. McCarthy led Bard by two shots going into the final round, but Bard fired an 8-under 64 on Sunday to win the prestigious tournament by six strokes. Bard registered a three-round score of 15-under-par 201 (66-71-64) and McCarthy finished runner-up at 9-under-par 207 (63-72-72).

Junior Chris Hickman (Centreville, Md.) posted ETSU’s lowest score on Sunday as the Centreville, Md. native carded a 1-under 71. Hickman tied for 54th at 6-over-par 222 (73-78-71), while sophomore Mateusz Gradecki (Oborniki Śląskie, Poland) tied for 32nd at 2-over-par 218 (73-71-74).

The tournament, which featured 10 teams ranked in the top-25 nationally, is often referred as “The Masters of College Golf.” ETSU placed ahead of No. 3 Stanford and 2013 champion Oklahoma State this weekend in the 15-team field.

The Bucs wrap up their fall season in two weeks at the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational in Kauai, Hawaii. The three-day tournament begins Monday, Nov. 3.

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!

For more information on Buccaneer men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s golf page.