No. 23/25 Kent State Closes Strong To Win Bank of Tennessee
10/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Golden Flashes erase nine stroke deficit with final round 278 to win second fall tournament
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. — The Kent State men's golf team proved its certainly not how you start, but how you finish that's important. Led by a four sub-par scores, the Golden Flashes closed out the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate @ Blackthorn Club with a final round 278 to win the 15-team tournament by seven strokes.
Trailing first and second round leader NC State by nine strokes at the start of the day, Kent State blitzed the field on the par 72, 7147-yard Ridges Course as all four counters scored under par on Sunday. The 10-under, 278 was in stark contrast to the 15-over 303 the team shot in the first round on Friday. Group with a second round 288 and the Golden Flashes turned in a five over 869 which bested No. 7 Virginia (876) by seven shots. Wake Forest (879) took third followed by NC State (882), No. 50 Memphis (885) and No. 9 Clemson (886).
"What an unbelievable and phenomenal performance by our team today," said Kent State Director of Golf/Head Coach Herb Page who has now led the program to 74 team titles in his 34 years. "This is the type of finish you dream of as a coach."
The rally started with the first guy off the tee this morning for Kent State. Sophomore Kyle Kmiecik (Avon, Ohio) not only posted the lowest round by a KSU player this season, he shot the lowest score by anyone in the 82-man field for the entire 54-hole event with a five-under 67. Kmiecik had two rounds of 76 on the first two days of the tournament, but came out smoking hot Sunday morning with birdies on Nos. 2,3 7 and 8 on the front nine alone. A bogey on No. 12 was his only misstep as birdies on No. 14 and 17 put him back to five-under for the round. The final round also vaulted him into the top 10 where he joined three of his fellow teammates.
For the third time in as many days, sophomore Corey Conners (Listowel, Ontario) produced another solid showing making four birdies against two bogeys for a two-under 70. Conners' even par 216 (75-71-70) tied for third overall and is his best finish in a Kent State uniform.
Junior Kevin Miller (Dover, Ohio) and sophomore, Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ontario) rounded out the four top 10 finishers for the Golden Flashes as the duo joined Kmiecik in a tie for 10th. Miller came through with a two-under 70 that included a remarkable stretch of four birdies in his final eight holes. His 219 (76-73-70) total is matches his lowest career round in a fall season which he set earlier in this week at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational. Pendrith meanwhile made four birdies against three bogeys as he carded a final round 71 and earned his fourth top 20 in as many events this season.
Anytime the Golden Flashes have the luxury of not counting a one-over 73, its a sure bet its been a good day on the course for the Blue and Gold. Senior Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ontario) had that 73 today which included an eagle on 14 and a birdie on No. 15. He ended the tournament tied for 25th with a seven-over 223 (78-72-73). Competing as an individual freshman Nick Scott (Union, Ohio) had a final round 77.
"Coming down the stretch the wind started to pick up and was howling a bit, but our guys made some fabulous shots and came through with birdies and tough pars," said Page. "This is a resilient group. After giving away a few strokes earlier this week in the final round at Muirfield Village it was great to see them bounce back and perform the way they did down the stretch."
Coupled with Kent State's win last month at the Inverness Intercollegiate and the 2011-12 season marks the first time since the 1999-00 campaign that the program has won at least two fall tournaments. The 1999-00 squad, which shares the school record with six tournament wins, captured the Hawkeye Intercollegiate, the SMU Stonebridge Big E Shootout and the Windon Memorial Classic during the fall of 1999.
The Golden Flashes have one tournament remaining on their fall schedule this season. The team travels to Georgia for the prestigious United States Collegiate Oct. 23-25.
Kent State R1 - R2 -R3 = Total
T3 Corey Conners (5) 75 - 71 - 70 = 216 (E)
T10 Taylor Pendrith (2) 76 - 72 - 71 = 219 (+3)
T10 Kevin Miller (3) 76 - 73 - 70 = 219 (+3)
T10 Kyle Kmiecik (4) 76 - 76 - 67 = 219 (+3)
T25 Mackenzie Hughes (1) 78 - 72 - 73 = 223 (+7)
Ind. Nick Scott Dq - 72 - 77
Rk team R1 - R2 -R3 = Total
1 25 Kent State 303 288 278 869 +5
2 7 Virginia 295 291 290 876 +12
3 Wake Forest 304 286 289 879 +15
4 NC State 287 296 299 882 +18
5 50 Memphis 298 289 298 885 +21
6 9 Clemson 313 281 292 886 +22
7 Missouri 296 299 296 891 +27
8 UNC Wilmington 296 306 290 892 +28
9 East Tenn. St. 313 290 291 894 +30
10 29 Tennessee 298 298 301 897 +33
11 35 Virginia Tech 310 307 293 910 +46
T12 Villanova 310 298 304 912 +48
T12 Louisville 303 309 300 912 +48
14 Toledo 308 301 307 916 +52
15 Army 313 321 324 958 +94
*Rankings by golfstat.com
