The Lee men's golf team battled from behind and lapped William Carey and Shorter University to win the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday at The Oaks course. After placing second for the past three years it was an especially sweet day for coach John Maupin and his seniors Jeremy Lawson, Caleb Roberson and Brock Rush.
In fact it was Roberson who led the charge with a 1-over par 73 in the final round of the 54-hole event. Lee's 913 was eight strokes better than Shorter's (921) and William Carey, Wednesday's leader, slipped to third place in the 10-team field.
However it was sophomore Hunter Vest who continued to pace the Flames. After rounds of 75-74, Vest carded another 74 on Wednesday and his 223 earned him a spot on the all-tournament team. Vest was joined on the all-tourney club by Matt Emery. He opend with a 70, dropped to 82 on Tuesday, but came back with a 77 (229) on the tough par 72 course.
JB Eksteen came fighting back in the final round with a 76, and Lawson rounded out the scoring with an 84. Nic Ishee of William Carey paced the individual play from start to finish and claimed the medalist title.
The Flames will return to the Lee campus in time to take final exams on Thursday, and then take a few days off before coming back to practice and head for the NAIA National Tournament in Salem, Ore. on May 21-25.
"I'm really happy for our team, especially the seniors," said coach Maupin. "We didn't get off to a great start today, but played real well in the middle rounds. We showed a lot of mental toughness and fought back the way I knew we could.The entire team played a role in this tournament win."