Sunday, April 13, 2003

RALEIGH, N.C. (April 13, 2003) - East Tennessee State senior James Johnson (Barbados) shot an even-par 71 on the final day of the Intercollegiate at Raleigh Country Club to finish tied for eighth (71-69-71=211 -2), helping the Buccaneers to a tie for 10th place in the talent-laden field Sunday at the Par 71, 6,782-yard course.

Southern Methodist picked up the team victory with a score of 9-under 843, besting No. 11 North Carolina and Tulsa, which tied for second at 5-under. On the individual leaderboard, Tulsa's Chris Noel bested Tennessee's David Skinns by one shot at 6-under-par for the event.

For the Bucs, Johnson led the way followed by sophomore Cennydd Mills (Cardiff, Wales), who shot a 3-over 216 (76-70-70) to finish tied for 26th. Fellow sophomores Chase Baldwin (Brandon, Fla.) and Jeremy Hobson (Thonotosassa, Fla.) finished at 8-over and 19-over, respectively, with Baldwin placing in a tie for 46th. Freshman Derek McNamara (Galway, Ireland) was forced to withdraw from the event after not finishing the final round.

ETSU finished the team event 24-over (291-285-300=876).

The Intercollegiate was ETSU's final regular season tournament in preparation for this weekend's Southern Conference Championships, which will start Friday at the Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga.