Gulf Coast finishes fourth at national championship
PLYMOUTH, Ind. – Mississippi Gulf Coast shot 12-over 300 Friday to clinch fourth place in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament at Swan Lake Resort's Black Course.
The Bulldogs stormed back on the back nine to edge Owens for fourth. Three consecutive Gulf Coast players made eagle on No. 15 to key the rally.
"I'd say we made another great comeback with three straight eagles," Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell said. "We just struggled early and couldn't overcome it. We just couldn't convert this week. It was just one of those weeks."
Freshman Colin Troxler shot even-par 72 to lead the Bulldogs in the final round of the 72-hole event. He finished at 5-over in a tie for 16th with sophomore Phillip Hickam, who had a 77 on the final day.
Sophomore Grant Motter had a 73 and finished tied for 24th.
Troxler and Hickam were named to the second team All-American team by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Motter earned honorable mention honors.
Sophomore George Kawell shot 6-over to finish at 18-over and tied for 52nd. Jonathon Newman's 80 landed him at 29-over in a tie for 81st.
Kawell started the eagle barrage. It was part of a four-hole stretch he played at 4-under.
Motter followed and would go on to birdie 18 to finish at 1-over. Then Troxler eagled 15, and he, too, would birdie 18 to get in at even.
The Bulldogs finished the tournament 34-over, 28 shots behind Kirkwood and Tyler. Kirkwood won a team playoff for second, and South Mountain defended its national championship by finishing 14-under and 20 shots ahead of the field.
South Mountain's Justin Warren won a two-hole, sudden-death playoff over Kirkwood's Carson Whittington for the individual title. They finished a 6-under for the tournament.
"It's been a great season," said Snell, whose team won the school's ninth straight Region 23 title. "I'm going to hate losing all these sophomores. That's the nature of community colleges; it's just two years. It's a bunch of great young men to be around."
