Sunday, April 19
Florence, S.C.
All Day
Davidson College Athletics
vs
Southern Conference Championship
‘Cats Finish Seventh at SoCon Championships; Saari, Taylor Garner Conference Honors
4/21/2009 4:51:11 PM | Men's Golf
Final Results (pdf)
FLORENCE, S.C. - The Davidson men's golf team closed out the 2008-09 season with a seventh place finish at the Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship on Tuesday at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C. Following the conclusion of play, senior Michael Saari was named to the All-Conference team and Jackson Taylor garnered All-Freshman team honors.
After his third-straight round of 73, Saari finished his Davidson Career with an 18th-place finish and a final score of three-over 219. He is the sixth Davidson golfer to be named to the All-SoCon team in the program's history, and the first since Tim Dillon was All-SoCon in 2005. The Lilburn, Ga. native was the team's top finisher in the tournament and recorded his fourth top-20 finish of the season.
Taylor closed out his first SoCon Championships with a two-over 74, including a birdie on the second hole, which played as the third-toughest hole of the day and had only three players shoot under par. He joined teammate Bobby Urso in a tie for 26th place with a total score of nine-over 225.
The Wildcats, who recorded a sub-300 score in each round of the tournament, fired a team score of 299 over the final 18 to finish with a 30-over par 894 (299-296-299), their third-lowest three-round score of the season.
Following a final-round 75, sophomore Christopher Rollins finished with a 227 and tied for 32nd place. Senior David Fowler carded an 82 in his 95th and final round as a Wildcat, closing the tournament in 52nd place with a three-round score of 235.
The Wildcat's three-round average of 298 is an 11-stroke improvement over last season's championship score, and the best total team score since they fired an aggregate 890 in 2006.
After entering the final three holes tied at 12-under par, Chattanooga shot even par over the closing stretch to edge Georgia Southern by two strokes and win the 2009 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship.
Georgia Southern's Drew Lethem (-6), who followed a tournament-low 66 in round one with back-to-back even par 72s, claimed individual medalist honors and his first career collegiate title. Lethem narrowly topped Tanner Briele (-5) of Western Carolina and Fredrik Qvicker (-5) of Chattanooga.
With the win, the Mocs earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals, which run from May 14-16. Lethem also earns automatic qualification to the NCAA Regionals as the individual conference champion.
Also placing in the top 10 was Georgia Southern's Logan Blondell (-4), the fourth-place finisher who was voted as the league's Player of the Year. Chattanooga's Jaeger was named SoCon Freshman of the Year while Georgia Southern head coach Larry Mays was voted as the Coach of the Year by his peers.
Western Carolina (E) overcame a seven-stroke deficit to begin the day to claim third place by eight strokes over Furman (+8). Wofford (+15) placed fifth while Elon (+19) was sixth. Falling behind Davidson was UNC Greensboro (+37), College of Charleston (+39), Samford (+42) and Appalachian State (+47).
2008-09 All-Southern Conference Team
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Derek Rende, Chattanooga
Ben Rickett, Chattanooga
Michael Saari, Davidson
Daniel Bowden, Furman
Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern
Drew Lethem, Georgia Southern
Will Bowman, UNC Greensboro
Andres Cuenca, Western Carolina
Garrett Medeiros, Wofford
2008-09 All-Freshman Team
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Jackson Taylor, Davidson
Anthony Aloi, Furman
Matt Broome, Furman
Will Almand, UNC Greensboro
Player of the Year
Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Coach of the Year
Larry Mays, Georgia Southern
FLORENCE, S.C. - The Davidson men's golf team closed out the 2008-09 season with a seventh place finish at the Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship on Tuesday at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, S.C. Following the conclusion of play, senior Michael Saari was named to the All-Conference team and Jackson Taylor garnered All-Freshman team honors.
After his third-straight round of 73, Saari finished his Davidson Career with an 18th-place finish and a final score of three-over 219. He is the sixth Davidson golfer to be named to the All-SoCon team in the program's history, and the first since Tim Dillon was All-SoCon in 2005. The Lilburn, Ga. native was the team's top finisher in the tournament and recorded his fourth top-20 finish of the season.
Taylor closed out his first SoCon Championships with a two-over 74, including a birdie on the second hole, which played as the third-toughest hole of the day and had only three players shoot under par. He joined teammate Bobby Urso in a tie for 26th place with a total score of nine-over 225.
The Wildcats, who recorded a sub-300 score in each round of the tournament, fired a team score of 299 over the final 18 to finish with a 30-over par 894 (299-296-299), their third-lowest three-round score of the season.
Following a final-round 75, sophomore Christopher Rollins finished with a 227 and tied for 32nd place. Senior David Fowler carded an 82 in his 95th and final round as a Wildcat, closing the tournament in 52nd place with a three-round score of 235.
The Wildcat's three-round average of 298 is an 11-stroke improvement over last season's championship score, and the best total team score since they fired an aggregate 890 in 2006.
After entering the final three holes tied at 12-under par, Chattanooga shot even par over the closing stretch to edge Georgia Southern by two strokes and win the 2009 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship.
Georgia Southern's Drew Lethem (-6), who followed a tournament-low 66 in round one with back-to-back even par 72s, claimed individual medalist honors and his first career collegiate title. Lethem narrowly topped Tanner Briele (-5) of Western Carolina and Fredrik Qvicker (-5) of Chattanooga.
With the win, the Mocs earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals, which run from May 14-16. Lethem also earns automatic qualification to the NCAA Regionals as the individual conference champion.
Also placing in the top 10 was Georgia Southern's Logan Blondell (-4), the fourth-place finisher who was voted as the league's Player of the Year. Chattanooga's Jaeger was named SoCon Freshman of the Year while Georgia Southern head coach Larry Mays was voted as the Coach of the Year by his peers.
Western Carolina (E) overcame a seven-stroke deficit to begin the day to claim third place by eight strokes over Furman (+8). Wofford (+15) placed fifth while Elon (+19) was sixth. Falling behind Davidson was UNC Greensboro (+37), College of Charleston (+39), Samford (+42) and Appalachian State (+47).
2008-09 All-Southern Conference Team
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Derek Rende, Chattanooga
Ben Rickett, Chattanooga
Michael Saari, Davidson
Daniel Bowden, Furman
Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern
Drew Lethem, Georgia Southern
Will Bowman, UNC Greensboro
Andres Cuenca, Western Carolina
Garrett Medeiros, Wofford
2008-09 All-Freshman Team
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Jackson Taylor, Davidson
Anthony Aloi, Furman
Matt Broome, Furman
Will Almand, UNC Greensboro
Player of the Year
Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga
Coach of the Year
Larry Mays, Georgia Southern
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