EMCC cards 14th-place team finish in highly competitive Ron Marshall Spring Fling golf tournament

Participating in their most competitive tournament field of the spring golf slate, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College carded a 14th-place team finish at this week's Ron Marshall Spring Fling played on the Lake Course at Goose Pond Colony Resort.

EMCC cards 14th-place team finish in highly competitive Ron Marshall Spring Fling golf tournament
March 14, 2015

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Participating in their most competitive tournament field of the spring golf slate, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College carded a 14th-place team finish at this week's Ron Marshall Spring Fling played on the Lake Course at Goose Pond Colony Resort.  The 14th annual, three-day tournament concluded Saturday at the site of this year's NJCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championship.

Serving as an NJCAA Division II preview event in advance of the May 19-22 national tournament, this year's Ron Marshall Spring Fling field featured eight teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the Bushnell Golfweek NJCAA Division II Coaches Poll as well as five other schools that placed among the top 12 during last year's NJCAA Division II National Championship.  In addition, 16 of the 21 schools that competed this week at Goose Pond Colony are ranked among the top 25 in Golfstat's most recent NJCAA Division II national team rankings.   

First-year head coach Benji Williams' EMCC Lions saved their best golf of the tournament for Saturday's final round with a 304 to go along with their opening-round 306 and Friday's 311.  East Mississippi's three-day composite score of 921 stood just 11 strokes away from 10th-place Illinois Central College.   

Mesa (Ariz.) Community College (295-293-283—871), last year's NJCAA Division II national runner-up, captured the 2015 Ron Marshall Spring Fling team title with a 9-stroke victory over Tyler (Texas) Junior College (292-300-288—880).  Darton State (Ga.) College (294-297-293—884) along with perennial NJCAA Region 23 and MACJC powerhouse Mississippi Gulf Coast (292-299-293—884) tied for third place, while Rend Lake (Ill.) College completed the tournament's top-five team finishers with a three-day total of 889 (299-295-295).    

Andreas Tancred, of Georgia's Andrew College, fired a 5-under-par 67 during Saturday's final round to highlight his three-round score of 212 (72-73-67) and earn individual medalist honors with a 3-shot win over  Zach Bialik of Grand Rapids CC (70-75-70---215) and Rend Lake College's Matt Greenfield (73-72-70—215).  

Sophomore Steven Eilders, of Ridgeland, paced EMCC's linksters throughout the tournament and finished in a three-way tie for 22nd place with a 222 (72-77-73) tournament total.  Teammate Hunter Harmon, from Vardaman, had consistent rounds of 77-79-77 to place tied for 59th.  Fellow EMCC sophomore Chase Chitwood followed close behind in a 71st-place tie (76-77-82—235), while Trent Humber (81-79-79—239) and Daniel Schroder (87-78-75—240) rounded out the Lions' scorecard in 84th and 87th place, respectively.   

East Mississippi resumes play within the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges' spring golf slate, March 23-24, at Dancing Rabbit in Philadelphia.  East Central Community College will serve as the tournament host for the MACJC's third golf event of the spring campaign.