No. 1 Bulldogs edged at Southwest Invitational
No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast more than made up the ground it needed to pass the first-round leaders at the Southwest Mississippi Spring Invitational during Tuesday's final round.
The problem for the Bulldogs was No. 6 Meridian made up the ground to pass them and Northeast Mississippi at Quail Hollow Golf Course. The Eagles edged Gulf Coast, who finished at 13-over, by one shot.
"I thought we played really well today collectively," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "A couple of breaks here or there didn't go our way the past couple of days, but I was very pleased with how our guys performed with conditions out of our control. We were able to give ourselves a chance coming down the stretch."
Northeast finished 14 shots behind of Gulf Coast.
Matt Wilkinson (So., Madison/Madison Central) finished second at even-par, one shot back of Northeast's Tate Dickerson. Wilkinson was playing as an individual whose score didn't count toward the MGCCC team score.
Reeves Johnson (So., Madison/Germantown) finished at 2-over in a tie for fifth to join Wilkinson on the All-Tournament team.
"We're getting back healthy," Thornton said. "It was good to see Matt get some confidence back, and Reeves has back-to-back Top-5s to start the semesters. There's a lot to look forward to."
Chase Kaiser (Fr., Natchez/Cathedral) finished eighth at 4-over for the tournament. Alessio Graziani (Fr., Johannesburg, South Africa/Beaulieu College) charged 15 places up the standings Tuesday by shooting 3-under 69. He finished tied for 11th.
Gulf Coast plays in the East Central Spring Invitational on March 6-7. The two-day tournament will be played at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia.
"I told these guys talent-wise we're where we need to be," Thornton said. "We just need to execute more, and he was able to do that. He was able to pick up a couple of guys who didn't have their best games today."
Team scores |
|
| School | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Meridian | 301-287—588 (-1) |
| 2. Gulf Coast | 299-290—589 (+2) |
| 3. Northeast Mississippi | 296-307—603 (+19) |
| 4. Copiah-Lincoln | 319-301—620 (+13) |
| T5. Itawamba | 322-328—650 (+40) |
| T5. Pearl River | 320-330—650 (+42) |
| 7. East Central | 339-326—665 (+38) |
| 8. Southwest Mississippi | 342-336—678 (+48) |
| 9. East Mississippi | 356-351—707 (+63) |
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MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| T2. Matt Wilkinson* | 71-73—144 (E) |
| T5. Reeves Johnson | 75-71—146 (+2) |
| 8. Chase Kaiser | 74-74—148 (+4) |
| T9. Alessio Graziani | 80-69—149 (+5) |
| T13. Ethan Trouth | 74-78—152 (+8) |
| T13. David Beard | 76-76—152 (+8) |
| 20. Hayden Russell* | 78-80—158 (+14) |
| T25. Spence Davis* | 78-82—160 (+16) |
| 39. Gabe Hudson* | 84-86—170 (+26) |
| *—Played as individual | |
For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
