Final results (PDF)STATESBORO, Ga. – Auburn posted a 19-under 269 in the second round and withstood a late rally by Vanderbilt to take home the 2015 Schenkel Invitational team title after a 36-hole day at Forest Heights Country Club Saturday.
Auburn surged ahead of Vanderbilt (-41) by shooting 19-under-par in the second round, which ties for the second-lowest round in Schenkel Invitational history. The Commodores (-40) returned the favor with a 269 on the final 18 holes, leaving them one shy of a tie for first. Alabama fired a 269 in the second round in 2012 after posting a 268 in the first round en route to running away with the team title.
Auburn's Daniel Stringfellow shot 65-69 today to take home medalist honors at 12-under par. Teammates Will Long (-11) and Ben Schlottman tied for second. Vanderbilt's Matthias Schwab and Theo Humphrey also tied for second and were two of four Commodores who placed in the top-10. It was Auburn's third team title in as many tries this spring.
Georgia Southern (-20) posted a 278, the third-lowest score of the second round, to move into third and followed that with a third round total of 284 (-4) to stay ahead of surging Kentucky (-18). Wake Forest and NC State (-17) tied for fifth.
The tournament featured 11 top-50 teams in the country, according to Golfstat, and 12 individuals ranked in the top-100. The teams played 36 holes today to finish the tournament and avoid inclement weather slated for Sunday.
Three Eagles finished in the top-25 with
Kim Koivu (-7) leading the way after carding 70-69 today and tying for 12th.
Matt Mierzejewski (-5) shot 68-71 to tie for 19th, and
Scott Wolfes (-4) posted 69-70 to tie for 24th.
Jake Storey shot 71-74 today and
Henry Mabbett posted 74-74. The Eagles three-round total of 844 was their best at the Schenkel in school history and six strokes better than last season's 850, which brought them their first Schenkel title in the 36-year history of the tournament.
Georgia Southern had four individuals competing as well –
Andrew Klasing shot 70-72 to finish the tournament with an even-par 216, and
Archer Price posted 71-78 for a 219 (+3).
Charlie Martin finished the tournament with a 223 (+7), and
Caleb Morris shot 231 (+15).
"Any time you can accumulate that many wins against teams that are ranked that high in the country, it's good," said Georgia Southern coach
Carter Collins. "Honestly, it's not the finish we wanted, but we're very proud of the finish we got. We got off to a rough start in the first round and battled back for the rest of the tournament. I'm very proud of all nine guys who played this week – they showed a lot of good things."
The Eagles take a week off before heading to the Mason Rudolph Championship, hosted by Vanderbilt April 3-4. That will serve as the final regular-season tournament as next on the docket is the Sun Belt Championships April 20-22.
"This shows everyone in the program that we're capable of doing big things this year," said Collins. "This is stronger than a typical regional field, and this finish would have been good enough to get us to nationals. Obviously, we have to go do it again, but this shows us that we're good enough to do it."
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events can be purchased by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com and clicking on the tickets link in the top menu.
