Duluth, Ga. - Georgia Southern fell into a tie for fifth place Tuesday in the third and final round of the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic hosted by Georgia State at the Berkeley Hills Country Club.
The Eagles began the day in third place after posting back-to-back 292s through two rounds to enter the final frame at 8-over par, nine strokes behind leader North Florida and six strokes back of second place Chattanooga. Georgia Southern was unable to make a run on the final day, posting a 300 and a 54-hole total of 884 (+20).
North Florida finished at 855 (-9) to edge the Mocs by two strokes to win the inaugural tournament. East Carolina's Harold Varner finished with a 54-hole total of 208 (-8) to win individual honors.
Senior Lewis Gruber (Tallahassee, Fla.) tied for seventh place at 1-under 215 (70-73-72) and freshman Charlie Martin (LaGrange, Ga.) tied for 19th place at 5-over 221 (74-69-78). Martin's 3-under 69 on Monday afternoon was the low round of the tournament for the Eagles. Freshman Matt Mierzejewski (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Sophomore Hayden Anderson (Knoxville, Tenn.) tied for 44th place at 228 (+12).
"We did our job yesterday, by putting ourselves in the final group," said Head Coach Larry Mays. "We got off to a rough start in the second round and were able to fight back, but today we didn't get the four scores we needed and got lapped by some teams that played well."
The Eagles' fall schedule concludes Nov. 7-8 when they co-host the Amelia National Intercollegiate at the Amelia National Golf and Country Club in Fernando Beach, Florida.
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