Golf

Golf Finishes Fourth At NCAA Northeast Regional

May 7, 2008

MIDDLETOWN, Del.-Led by junior Jamie Blake (Arbroath, Scotland), who finished tied for 10^th overall, the Post University golf team finished fourth, combining to shoot a 936, at the 2008 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Championships, Wednesday afternoon the Back Creek Golf Course.

"Obviously we didn't get it done," Head Coach Pete Stevens said following the tournament. "This was the first time that the program has gone into the Northeast Regional with an opportunity to win, and we didn't get it done. We were four strokes down going into the final day, which is not a lot to overcome."

It is the highest finish-ever for the program at the Northeast Regional, as the Eagles made their fourth straight appearance in the tournament. Following the second round on Tuesday, the Eagles were just four shots shy of leader Bryant, who would go onto win the Northeast Region championship.

"The season was a great season," Stevens added. "It was a successful season, but we just couldn't get it done. We'll just chalk this up as a learning experience. We'll work hard in the summer and come back in the fall ready to go at it again."

Entering the Northeast Regional's, the Eagles had won their last three tournaments, including, their third straight Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship, on the same Back Creek Course on April 15. The team was also ranked No. 3 in the Northeast Region, heading into the region tournament.

Blake fired an 81 on the afternoon to lead the Eagles, who struggled in the third and final round, on the par-71, 6,585-yard Back Creek Course. The junior finished tied for 10^th along with Lorne Shannon of Wilmington. In the first round, Blake recorded a 77, and fired a 73 in the second round, to finish with a score of 231 (+18).

Freshman Ryan Philipp (Bristol, Conn.) finished his first NCAA Northeast Regional tied for 16^th, after shooting a 54-hole total, 234 (+21). He carded a 75 in the first round, a 76 in the second, and an 83 in the third and final round.

The freshman was joined by fellow classmate David McGregor (Helensburgh, Scotland), who also finished his first NCAA Northeast Regional, with a score of 234 (+21). McGregor, who earned CACC individual medalist honors on this same course, recorded a 77 in the first round, a 74 in the second round, and an 83 in the third round.

Sophomore Lee Wanklyn (Berkshire, England) finished fourth on the team and tied for 27^th overall, with a score of 240 (+27). Wanklyn, who finished 11^th at last year's Northeast Regional, had an 81 in the first round, a 77 in the second round, and an 82 in the third.

Senior Calum Malcolm (Dunfermline, Scotland) finished with a score of 245 (+32). He recorded a 78 in the first round on Monday, an 84 in the second round on Tuesday, and an 83 in the third round this afternoon, finishing tied for 35^th overall.

Bryant won the Northeast Regional with a three-round total of 916 (300-303-313), and finished one stroke better than Pace 917 (303-302-312). St. Thomas Aquinas rounded out the top three with a score of 920 (299-317-304).

The Eagles had a 307 in the first round on Monday, and shot the lowest score of the second round on Tuesday with a 300, to enter the final day within striking distance of the leader, but struggled in the third round with a 329.

Post finished ahead of Adelphi (939), UMass.-Lowell (942), Bentley (964), and Wilmington (969). Dominican's Brian Mackey, who was competing as an individual, won individual medalist honors with a 222.

For complete scores on the 2008 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional please logon to the following address http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=1214