COLUMBUS, Ohio --- The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team battled on Saturday but could not make up enough ground to reach the top five and advance from the NCAA Columbus Regional. UTC shot 291 (+7) in the final round to end up tied for ninth on the Scarlet Course.
The Mocs tied Charlotte with a 54-hole total of 889. Fifth-ranked New Mexico captured the regional shooting 870. The Lobos will be joined in Atlanta for the NCAA Championship by No. 18 Auburn (872), No. 20 South Carolina (872), UNLV (878) and Texas Tech (879).
Virginia’s Denny McCarthy fired a five-under par 66 to claim the individual berth from a non-advancing team.
Senior Steven Fox (Hendersonville, Tenn.) closed out his collegiate career tying for 22nd. His even par 71 today led the Mocs and gave him a three-round total of 221. He ended up three shots ahead of Liam Johnston (Dumfries, Scotland) who tied for 37th at 224.
Two strokes separated the remaining three UTC student-athletes. Chris Robb (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) shot 226 to tie for 48th. That was one clear of Davis Bunn (Knoxville, Tenn.) who tallied 227 and two from Benni Weilguni (Langenlois, Austria) at 228.
UNM’s James Erkenbeck won medalist honors with a final round 68. His three-under par 210 was four better than a trio of golfers tied for second including McCarthy, Dominic Bozzelli (Auburn) and Matthew NeSmith (South Carolina).
Chattanooga completes another successful season. The team captured its sixth Southern Conference Championship and fifth in seven years. Robb won his second collegiate title in October at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate.
NCAA Columbus Regional
May 16-18 – Scarlet Course – Columbus, Ohio
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1) No. 5 New Mexico
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294-293-283
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870 (+18)
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2) No. 20 South Carolina
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288-296-288
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872 (+20)
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tie) No. 18 Auburn
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293-293-286
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872 (+20)
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4) UNLV
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292-292-294
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878 (+26)
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5) Texas Tech
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299-288-292
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879 (+27)
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6) Virginia
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303-294-285
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882 (+30)
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7) No. 8 Stanford
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291-295-298
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884 (+32)
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8) Missouri
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294-301-291
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886 (+34)
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9) Chattanooga
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304-294-291
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889 (+37)
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tie) Charlotte
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287-309-293
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889 (+37)
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11) San Francisco
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297-299-297
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893 (+41)
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12) Georgia Southern
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298-308-309
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915 (+63)
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13) Valparaiso
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309-308-310
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927 (+75)
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Mocs:
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T22) Steven Fox
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73-77-71
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221 (+6)
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T37) Liam Johnston
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74-78-72
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224 (+9)
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T48) Chris Robb
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79-72-75
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226 (+11)
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T51) Davis Bunn
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78-76-73
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227 (+12)
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T55) Benni Weilguni
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83-69-76
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228 (+13)
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