The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team is second after 18 holes of the Southern Conference Championships. The Mocs shot 4-under 284 behind senior Samuel Espinosa’s 5-under effort on a chilly, rainy Sunday at Reynolds Lake Oconee.
Espinosa cruised around the Oconee Course with six birdies en route to a spring best 67. He is tied for second on the individual leaderboard with ETSU’s Mats Ege, two behind the Bucs’ Matty Dodd-Berry. Teammate John Houk is fourth with 69. Paul Conroy (73) and Garrett Engle (75) completed the counting card while Braedon Wear had the drop score with 76.
“We got solid rounds today from Sam and John,” Coach Blaine Woodruff noted.
“I’m really proud of the way we played 17 and 18 to trim the deficit and give ourselves a chance. There’s plenty of golf left to make a move.”
The Mocs were 2 over as a team through the 15th hole on the counting cards. They played 16-18 at 6 under with four birdies and an eagle including playing the par 5 17th at 5 under as a group.
In the meantime, the Bucs got off to a fantastic start. They made the turn at 6 under and reached 12 under through 12. A couple of bogeys on 13 and 14 were offset by a 4-under run through 17 as well to take a 9-stroke lead into Monday.
Furman is in third, two behind Chattanooga. UNCG (290) is fourth followed by Mercer (296), Wofford (300), Samford (302) and Western Carolina (305).
The field returns to the tee at 9 a.m., Monday morning. The Mocs open on No. 1 at 9:55 with Wear leading off. He’s followed by Engle, Conroy, Houk and Espinosa. Scoring is linked above.
SoCon Championships
April 21-23 (Sun-Tue) | Eatonton, Ga. | 54 holes (18 per day)
Oconee Course | Par 72 | 7,174 yards
1) ETSU: 275 (-13)
2) Chattanooga: 284 (-4)
3) Furman: 286 (-2)
4) UNCG: 290 (+2)
5) Mercer: 296 (+8)
6) Wofford: 300 (+12)
7) Samford: 302 (+14)
8) Western Carolina: 305 (+17)
Mocs:
T2) Samuel Espinosa: 67 (-5)
4) John Houk: 69 (-3)
T15) Paul Conroy: 73 (+1)
T22) Garrett Engle: 75 (+3)
T27) Braedon Wear: 76 (+4)
Lineup
Time (ET): Student-Athlete (Avg)
9:55 a.m.: Braedon Wear (+4)
10:05 a.m.: Garrett Engle (+3).
10:15 a.m.: Paul Conroy (+1)
10:25 a.m.: John Houk (-3)
10:35 a.m.: Samuel Espinosa (-5)
Alternate: Dalton Chuba (72.93)
Field (Top 100 ranking)
(43) Chattanooga, (20) ETSU, (83) Furman, Mercer, (40) UNCG, Samford, Western Carolina, Wofford