Sunday, April 06, 2003

AUGUSTA, Ga. (April 6, 2003) -- On a day when rain delayed the start of the final round at the Cleveland Golf/Augusta State Invitational, the East Tennessee State men's golf team finished with an 11th-place finish thanks to a team score of 7-under-par 875 Sunday at the Forest Hills Golf Club.

While the Bucs fell four places from their Saturday finish of 7th, Augusta State -- the event's host school -- managed to overtake the nation's top-ranked team Clemson and win the team event by two strokes after carding a 44-under-par 820. Augusta State was powered by strong individual performances from Oliver Wilson and James Heath, with Wilson winning top individual honors at 17-under-par by two strokes over Clemson's D.J. Trahan. Meanwhile, Heath finished third at 13-under.

For the Bucs, sophomore Chase Baldwin (Brandon, Fla.) led the way with a tie for 21st (71-68-72=211 -5), while fellow sophomore Cennydd Mills (Cardiff, Wales) placed in a tie for 29th with a three-round score of 3-under-par 213 (70-72-71). Senior James Johnson (Barbados) tied for 54th (73-70-75=218 +2), while Derek McNamara (Galway, Ireland) and Jeremy Hobson (Thonotosassa, Fla.) finished at 8-over and 10-over, respectively.

The event featured 14 of the nation's Top 50 teams, with 12 of those squads in the Top 30.

Cleveland Golf/Augusta State Invitational
Forest Hills Golf Club
Augusta, Ga.
Par 72, 6,875 yards
Team Results
1	Augusta State	279-274-267=820	-44
2	Clemson	273-279-270=822	-42
T3	Oklahoma State	275-280-281=839	-25
T3	Wake Forest	276-281-282=839	-25
5	Georgia	277-283-281=841	-23
6	Georgia Tech	290-272-290=842	-22
7	N.C. State	288-282-280=850	-14
8	North Carolina	284-284-283=851	-13
9	Purdue	283-286-284=853	-11
10	South Carolina	284-283-287=854	-10
11	ETSU	284-283-290=857	-7
12	Virginia Tech	295-282-283=860	-4
13	Alabama	296-287-279=862	-2
14	Duke	286-294-295=865	+1
T15	Fresno State	295-289-286=870	+6
T15	Ga. Southern	289-291-290=870	+6
17	North Florida	200-296-285=881	+17
Individuals
1	Oliver Wilson, Augusta State	68-67-64=199	-17
2	D.J. Trahan, Clemson	66-71-64=201	-15
3	James Heath, Augusta State	68-67-68=203	-13
4	Jack Ferguson, Clemson	67-69-69=205	-11
	Eirik Johansen, South Carolina	72-65-68=205	-11
	Justin Walters, N.C. State	66-71-68=205	-11
ETSU Individuals
T21	Chase Baldwin	71-68-72=211	-5
T29	Cennydd Mills	70-72-71=213	-3
T54	James Johnson	73-70-75=218	+2
T75	Derek McNamara	70-76-78=224	+8
T79	Jeremy Hobson	81-73-72=226	+10