Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate
DeBonis takes 11th, Kats 7th in final fall tourney
10/20/2015 5:19:00 PM | Men's Golf
Sam Houston men's golf vaulted four spots up the leaderboard to take seventh, led by a collegiate-best 11th place finish and 4-over, 217 from freshman Camden DeBonis, during the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate at the par-71, 7,242-yard New Mexico State Golf Course in Las Cruces.
DeBonis (76-73-68) used a bogey-free final round 3-under, 68 to move up 29 spots. The Allen product's 68 tied the second-lowest score of the final round and was the third lowest among all competitors during the tournament.
“He played as solid as I've seen all year,” fourth-year head coach Brandt Kieschnick said. “He didn't make any mistakes. Talking with him after the round, he made it easy on himself. I think it gave him a lot of confidence.”
The Bearkats logged the fourth lowest third round total at 293, matching Wichita State for the biggest leap during the final 18, while finishing at 32-over, 884. Sam Houston boasted three golfers in the top 30, thanks to Mason Weld's 8-over, 221, in a tie for 27th and Andrew Ertel's 9-over, 222 in a tie for 29th.
“I think our best is yet to come,” Kieschnick said. “I think we're way more talented than we have finished. We have had some guys play well but when all five of us play our game, we'll be winning tournaments. That's what comes with a young team. I am excited what they can do.”
Jake McCrory (72-76-79) took a tumble on the final day, finishing at 14-over 227 in a tie for 51st. Dominick Gennuso (82-73-77) stayed pat in 71st, finishing at 19-over, 232, while Jesse Massengale (81-75-77) moved three spots ahead into a tie for 72nd at 20-over, 233.
UTEP held on to its day one lead, taking the tournament title at 854. The Miners were followed by Grand Canyon (871), Wichita State (875), Lamar (876), Colorado State (876), New Mexico State (877), Sam Houston (884), Odessa College (885), Stephen F. Austin (888), Northern Illinois (892), UT-Arlington (893), UT-Rio Grande Valley (896), Western New Mexico (902) and Incarnate Word (914).
Lamar's Mans Berglund captured the individual title at 4-under, 209, to best UTEP's Frederik Dreier (1-over, 212) by three strokes.
“There is a certain way to play the golf course and we stuck to our plan,” Kieschnick said. “We got six shots within the lead with 12 holes left. We also got a few shots within the top four but couldn't hold those together. The guys worked hard and were committed to the game plan.”
The Intercollegiate closed out fall play for the Bearkats, who will pick back up play Feb. 8-9 at the Oak Hills Invitational in San Antonio. Sam Houston competes in five regular-season tournaments during the spring leading up to the Southland Conference Championship, April 18-20 in McKinney.
