Kats continue fall slate in New Mexico
10/16/2016 4:31:00 PM | Men's Golf
Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate • Oct. 17-18
University Golf Course • 7,242 yard, par-71
Live Scoring • @BearkatsMGolf on Twitter
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After hosting the Bayou City Collegiate Classic in Pearland, the Sam Houston State men's golf team hits the road for its third out-of-state tournament of the fall slate, taking part in the 17th annual two-day Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate beginning Monday.
Sam Houston will be one of 14 teams at the event, joining Grand Canyon, Incarnate Word, McMurry University (Individuals), Odessa College, Oral Roberts, Stephen F. Austin, UMKC, Utah Valley, UTEP, UT Rio Grande Valley, Western Illinois, Western New Mexico and Wichita State.
The 54-hole invitational will be played over two days at the University GC with 36 holes on Monday and the final 18 holes set for Tuesday. Golfers will begin at 9:30 a.m. CT each day with a shotgun start. The University GC is a 7,242 yard, par-71 layout which was opened in 1963.
A season ago, the Kats vaulted four spots up the leaderboard on the final day to take seventh at the tournament, led by a collegiate-best 11th place finish and 4-over, 217 from freshman Camden DeBonis.
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.
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.
Through three tournaments this fall, Sam Houston's best finish has come in Harford, Conn., during the second event of the season. The Kats finished fourth at the Hartford Hawk Invitational, using a 10-stroke improvement for a team score of 280 in the 36-hole, rain-shortened event.
There, Jake McCrory, who missed last week's event with a back injury, posted a team-best, 7-under, 137 to finish third in the event. Without McCrory at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic, Sam Houston finished 12th, led by Jesse Massengale's 21st-place finisher at 3-over, 219.
QUOTEABLES
Head coach Brandt Kieschnick on the state of the team…
“We're coming off a week where we competed so it's good to get back at it and improve on last week. We want to compete early. We had a good practice session this week to get our ball control down. We look good right now and I think we're ready.”
Head coach Brandt Kieschnick on having Jake McCrory back in the lineup…
“Right now he's ranked top 50 in the country so he's playing as good as anyone in golf. You can count on him. He's very reliable. He's playing consistently at a high level and is preparing at a high level every day.”
