Big South Men's Golf Spring Season Begins

COASTAL CAROLINA T-7TH AT JOHN HAYT COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
Coastal Carolina's men's golf team moved up five spots in the final round to tie for seventh at the 2008 John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, Feb. 17-19. The three-day, 54-hole tournament was played at the Sawgrass Country Club (Par 72 - 6,895 yards) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. This tournament featured 11 teams ranked in the top 50 nationally, according to GolfStat.

Coastal shot an opening round score of 306, but rallied to improve each round, shooting 298 on the second 18 and then its best score of the tournament, a 1-over 289, on the final round to finish at 893 and tied with UAB. The 289 was the second-best team total in the final round and one of only three teams to post a score better than 295 on the final day. Alabama took home the team title with a 54-hole total of 873, four shots better than runner-up UCLA and 13 shots ahead of North Florida and Tennessee in a tie for third.

Freshman Tripp McAllister was the top finisher for the Chanticleers, tying for 25th with a three-round total of 223. Sophomore Dan Obremski was next in a tie for 29th at 224, while junior Cameron Hooper and sophomore Sam Lyons were tied for 38th at 226. Obremski and Lyons led CCU on the final day, each posting a 2-under 70 in the final round. Josh Jackson tied for 78th with a 241.

Coastal Carolina will have two-and-a-half weeks off before hosting their annual tournament, the General Jim Hackler Championship, Sun.-Mon., March 9-10 at the TPC of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, S.C.

WINTHROP 10TH AT RICE INTERCOLLEGIATE
Winthrop junior golfer Kelly Manders (Potomac, MD) fired a four-under score of 68 in the final round of the Rice Intercollegiate on Tuesday and finished second with a 54-hole total of 218. Manders' 2-over par tournament total of 218 (77-73-68) was one shot behind Louisiana Tech’s Amrith de Soysa. Baylor University won the team title Baylor won the team title by two strokes over UC Davis. The Winthrop men finished 10th out of 12 teams. Senior Pete Alminas (East Longmeadow, MA) tied for 23rd with a 224 (76-72-76). Freshman Jacob Carlsson (Stockholm, Sweden) tied for 40th at 231 (75-77-79). Another freshman, Cipriano Ayala (North Myrtle Beach, SC) shot a 243 (80-73-80) and tied for 45th. Rounding out the scoring was junior Brent Martin (LaPlata, MD) in 56th place with a 241 (85-77-79).

COASTAL CAROLINA FINISHES 9TH AT SUNTRUST GATOR INVITATIONAL
Coastal Carolina's men's golf finished in ninth at the 2008 SunTrust Gator Invitational, Feb. 9. The two-day, 54-hole tournament was the spring opener for the Chanticleers and was played at the Mark Bostick Golf Course (Par 70 - 6,701 yards) at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla.

Playing with one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen in the lineup, the Chanticleers shot a 10-over 290 in the final round to finish in ninth place at 16-over 856. Host Florida took the tournament title by firing its third straight under-par round, this time a 278 for a three-round total of 20-under 820, 12 shots ahead of runner-up Florida State. Mississippi State was third at 842, while UAB was fourth at 844.

Coastal was led by freshman Tripp McAllister, who tied for 12th at 1-under 209, followed by sophomore Dan Obremski at 3-over 213, good for a tie for 23rd. Michael Schachner of Duke and UAB's Zach Sucher tied for medalist honors at 7-under 203, with Tyson Alexander of Florida in third at 6-under 204. Coastal's other finishers were Cameron Hooper (T-34th, 216), Sam Lyons (T-53rd, 220) and David Dannelly (63rd, 224).