Sunday, October 26, 2008

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (Oct. 26, 2008) - For the third straight year the ETSU men's golf team was in contention to claim its first-ever Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Ridges title, but when the sun settled, Coastal Carolina edged out the Buccaneers by one stroke to capture the crown on Sunday evening.

The Bucs, who have now lost by one stroke in two of the last three years at this event, saw a four-shot lead evaporate on the 18^th hole. Both ETSU and Coastal Carolina entered the third and final round two shots behind Wake Forest, but the Chanticleers took full advantage of Paul O'Kane's (Castledawson,  Northern Ireland) triple-bogey on 18, to walk away with a final score of 5-over 869 for the tournament.

"It has been a long time since we have won," said Coastal Carolina's Zack Byrd, who finished tied for second at 1-under 215. "We haven't won a regular season event since April of 2006, and we had a rough start to our season two weeks ago in Chicago. After that event (in Chicago) we came home, reevaluated our play, and worked on getting back in the mindset of winning each week."

The regrouping helped in a big way for the Chanticleers, as they played well all weekend, and finally took the lead for the first time at the conclusion of play on Sunday.

ETSU was led by sophomore Rhys Enoch (Cornwall, England), who finished in a four-way tie for second, at 1-under 215. Enoch posted a team-best 1-under 71 in Sunday's final round. The other Buccaneer highlight on the weekend came from freshman Michael Stewart (Troon, Scotland). Stewart finished in the top-10 for the first time in his collegiate career, as he tied for sixth, firing an even-par 215.

"We played some good golf this weekend and put ourselves in contention to win," said head ETSU men's golf coach Fred Warren. "The guys played and competed well. Overall, it was a good tournament."

North Carolina State's Darren Blair captured the individual crown, finishing with a 6-under 210 in the three-day tournament.

"It feels really good to finally win this event; it was a long time coming," said Blair. "I really never played well here before, but the biggest thing today was when I birdied the second hole. That putt calmed the nerves and helped me gain some confidence. Hopefully I can now carry this momentum into the spring."

Sunday's Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate marked the end of fall play for ETSU. The Buccaneers posted two top-five finishes during the fall season, and return to action on Feb. 2, when ETSU heads out to Tucson for the Ping Arizona Intercollegiate.

For more information on Buccaneer golf, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.