Thanks to sizzling play in rounds two and three the No. 13 Lee men's golf team turned a 12-shot deficit into a 14-shot victory at the UNA Spring Classic on Tuesday from the Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals course.
Senior Shea Sylvester (207) turned in three straight rounds of 3-under par 69 to capture the individual title as the Flames burned up the competition in rounds two and three. Sylvester has now won two collegiate tournaments, each coming this season.
As a team Lee shot identical scores of 279 in the final 36 holes for an 854 total to top runner-up and host No.
9 North Alabama (868). No. 23 Young Harris College fired an 875 to finish fourth while No. 32 and round one leader Carson-Newman finished one shot back in fourth. No. 24 Limestone College placed fifth at 877.
All totaled the Lee squad defeated five ranked teams including two teams ranked in the top 10. The Flames have now won UNA Spring Tournament three consecutive years.
"I'm incredibly pleased with the effort from our guys the last 36 holes. We didn't feel very good about that first round, but the guys rebounded to play some dominant golf and complete a great comeback win," said head coach John Maupin after the tournament. "I thought we showed a lot of maturity during the long rain delay yesterday by coming back out with a great sense of urgency--that set us up to really get going today."
Limestone College's Flip Sandberg finished three shots back of Sylvester after carding a low-round of the tournament, 65 in the final round. Eli Crumley of Young Harris finished third with a 211, 5-under par while Forest Knight of North Alabama and Chance Caylor of West Alabama rounded out the top five with a 4-under par 212.
"I'm happy for Shea, he has been fighting hard over the past few weeks without his best stuff to still give us good rounds and he's kept a great attitude," noted Maupin. "This week he was closer to top form, showed great awareness with his game and decision making, and was rewarded for it. He closed strong, he knows how to get it done."
Sophomore Matt Johnson was one of four Lee players to fire in the sixties for the Flames on Tuesday. Johnson finished in a tie for 10 after shooting a 71 and 69. Senior Adam Wright rebounded from an opening round 78 to post a 71 before shooting in the red again in the third and final round with a 68 to finish in tie for 15.
Freshman Evan Spence made his impact felt in the lineup with a 68 in round two and a 73 in round three to tie Wright with a 217 total. Junior Corey Sheppard rounded things out with a 74 and 76 for a 225 total. Scott Odell played as an individual and registered a 223 after scoring a 71 and 75 to close out the tournament.
"Great contributions from everyone this week--we've really been looking for some guys to step up and we got it this week. Adam was huge in the final round posting a 68. Our freshman, Evan Spence, shot the low round in round two, and was very impressive down the stretch," added Maupin. "Matt Johnson continues to be a consistent force for us and Corey had some tough starts, but he showed growth in the areas that we know are important, and I love where he's at right now."
The Flames will get one final tune up before the GSC Championship as they head just up Interstate 75 to Loudon to compete in the Tennessee River Rumble hosted by Lincoln Memorial University on April 3-4.
"I think this week was a big step for this team, they've been battling all semester and we've played well, but just hadn't put it all together. It really came together though this week, and the guys kept their foot on the pedal when it did--that's going to be important moving forward," concluded Maupin.