Mobile, Ala. --- Trailing by eight strokes, No. 13 Chattanooga shot the day's best round of four-under par 284, tied by Memphis, but it was not enough to catch No. 21 Louisville as the Mocs finished second in the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate. UTC shot 877 (+13) for the tourney.
“We just spotted them too many shots in the first round,” said Head Coach Mark Guhne. “It was tied going into the final few holes, but we couldn't close the door. I liked the way we responded to a rough start.”
Junior Ben Rickett led the way for the Mocs with a final round 69 (-3), finishing tied for fifth at 219 (+3). Fellow junior Jonathan Hodge tied Rickett by shooting a 71 (-1).
Sophomores Fredrik Qvicker and J.T. Clendenin each shot 72 (E), with Qvicker finishing tied for eighth at 220 (+4). Fellow sophomores Derek Rende carded a 75 (+3), which placed him in 11th overall at 222 (+6). Clendenin completed the tourney tied for 24th with a total of 227 (+11).
Senior Tyler Neff competed as an individual with a 54-hole score of 226 (+10). After opening with a one-over 73, he followed with scores of 78 and 75.
Chattanooga was fifth after round one, but shot the low round of the day in the second to move into second place, while tying for the low round to finish second overall. UTC finished two shots ahead of Memphis and nine in front of No. 37 Mississippi State.
The Mocs return to action this weekend at the Furman Intercollegiate. The tournament is played Fri.-Sun., March 28-30.
NOTES
>The top-five finish is Hodge's fourth of the year, Rickett's second.
>MOBILE BAY INTERCOLLEGIATE FIELD (Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking): Davidson, (78) Eastern Michigan, Mercer, (37) Mississippi State, Hartford, (21) Louisville, (70) Memphis, (79) Southern Miss, (74) South Alabama, South Florida, Xavier
>SOUTHERN CONFERENCE SCHOOLS IN RANKINGS (Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking): (13) CHATTANOOGA, (75) Western Carolina, (91) Furman, (93) Georgia Southern, (94) College of Charleston, (115) Elon, (151) UNC Greensboro, (177) Wofford, (201) Appalachian State, (225) Davidson
>MOCS INDIVIDUAL IN GOLFWEEK/SAGARIN RATINGS INDEX: (38) Jonathan Hodge, (62) Derek Rende, (95) Fredrik Qvicker, (201) J.T. Clendenin, (237) Ben Rickett. Highest ranked SoCon player not on Mocs roster: (142) Matt Cook of Western Carolina.
