Feb. 20, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
IRVING, Texas - UAB continued to improve during the third and final round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday, and finished tied for seventh overall. The Blazers closed play with a three-day total of 893 (301-296-297) and defeated four teams ranked ahead of them in the latest national poll. UCF was also at the Hayt and finished 13th in the prestigious event. The Knights, who are ranked No. 23, recorded a team score of 901.
CO-MEN'S GOLFER OF THE WEEK
ZACH SUCHER - UAB
Jr., Mobile, Ala. (St. Paul's Episcopal)
Sucher led UAB to impressive finishes to open the spring season. Last week, the native of Mobile closed the SunTrust Gator Invitational with a seven-under 203 (68-67-68) to capture co-medalist honors. He led the Blazers to a fourth-place finish at the prestigious event. Sucher's win marked the second victory of his career and the first of the 2007-08 season. Sucher also led UAB this past weekend at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., as he tied for 16th overall with a five-over par 221. His efforts helped the Blazers defeat four teams ranked ahead of them in the latest national poll.
CO-MEN'S GOLFER OF THE WEEK
DAVID JOHNSON - UCF
Jr., Palm Bay, Fla. (Melbourne)
Johnson tied for ninth at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The junior carded a one-under 71 on the final day of play to finish at 218 (+2). In the second round of the three-day tournament, he posted an even-par 72. The event, which was played at the Sawgrass Country Club, included three teams that are ranked in the top-five nationally. The tournament was the first of the spring for Johnson and the Knights.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
JORDAN IRWIN - Houston
Irwin helped lead the Cougars to a 12th-place finish during their 2008 spring-opening tournament at the GADO North Texas Classic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He finished in 10th place with a 1-under-par 215 and was the only Cougar to shoot par in any round, accomplishing the feat in the first two rounds.
BRAD BENJAMIN - Memphis
Benjamin helped lead his team to a fourth place finish at the Rice Intercollegiate. The junior finished tied for fourth with a score of 219 (69-75-75).
MICHAEL BUTTACAVOLI - Rice
Buttacavoli fired a five-under par 67 during the second round of the Fourth Annual Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational, carding a two-round score of 137 to tie for first. He lost a one-hole playoff to finish as the runner-up at the 18-team tournament. Buttacavoli's top-five finish was the first of his career. He followed up his performance in Utah by finishing in a tie for 12th at the Owls' Rice Intercollegiate.
GOLFWEEK TOP 100 RANKINGS
23. UCF
31. UAB
50. SMU
65. Memphis
80. East Carolina
82. Southern Miss
EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina concluded the fall portion of its 2007-08 schedule with a sixth place finish at the Mizuno Southbridge Intercollegiate Oct. 15-16... The Pirates finished the 54-hole event with a team total of 863... Sophomore Tripp Brizendine fired a two-under par 214 (71-70-73) to earn a tie for eighth place... Classmate Tanner Briele, one of only two Pirates to shoot par or better in the final round, carded a two-over 218 (74-72-72) and tied for 22nd with teammate Andre Thorsen (76-68-74)... ECU is currently ranked No. 71 in the latest Golfweek rankings... The Pirates will resume play Feb. 25-26 at the Wexford Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C.
HOUSTON
Houston opened its spring season with a 12th-place finish at the GADO/North Texas Classic... The Cougars closed the 54-hole event with a final-round score of 301 to complete the tournament at 899 on the par-72, 6853-yard course... Senior Jordan Irwin led the Cougars with a three-round score of 1-under-par 215 to place 10th overall... Both sophomore Jackie Lindsey and Trevor Edwards tied for 28th overall with a final score of 223. Edwards, a true freshman, was competing in only his second tournament as a Cougar... The Cougars return to action Feb. 25-26 when they play host to the All-American Intercollegiate at Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring.
MARSHALL
Marshall concluded the 54-hole UTSA Intercollegiate, its first event of the spring season, in a tie for 13th place with a score of 908 (311-298-299) at the par-71, 6,765-yard Oak Hills Country Club...Thundering Herd sophomore Christian Brand and junior Nathan Kinker paced Marshall with scores of 224, which put them in a tie for 33rd place... Kinker (78-73-73) finished the tournament with consecutive rounds of 73, the best score of any MU player at the event... Marshall will resume tournament play next week at the Wexford Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C., on Feb. 25-26.
MEMPHIS
Memphis opened its spring season with a fourth-place finish at the Rice Intercollegiate... The Tigers shot a three round total of 887 (286-298-303)... Four golfers produced top-20 finishes lead by junior Brad Benjamin who finished tied for fourth with a score of 219 (69-75-75)... Senior Robbie Greenwell finished tied for 15th, firing a 222 (70-77-75).... Senior Ian Rochester (70-77-76) and freshman Stefan Erdedi (70-76-77) each carded a 223 to tie for 18th. .. Senior Kyle Ritchie shot a 236 (78-79-79)... The Tigers will return to action next week when they head to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Rio Pinar Invitational Feb. 25-26.
RICE
Playing on its home course, Westwood Golf Club, Rice struggled during the final round of the tournament and finished eighth at the Rice Invitational... The Owls shot an 898 team score, finishing with a 304 on Tuesday... After a second-round score of 68, Rice sophomore Michael Buttacavoli shot a 75 Tuesday and was the Owls' top performer, finishing in a tie for 12th with a 221... Michael Whitehead was the next Owl finisher, tying for 27th with a 225... Rice returns to play next week when it takes part in the Cuthbert Cup on Kiawah Island, S.C.
SMU
SMU finished as runner-up the UTSA Intercollegiate at the 7,103-yard, par-72 Comanche Trace Golf Course Oct. 30... The Mustangs carded a 54-hole total of 847 and fell just three shots back of champion St. John's (844)... Individually, Mustangs Ben Tewes and Kelly Kraft tied for third at 11-under 205, while Draegen Majors also finished near the top of the leaderboard, tying for 15th at 1-over 217... SMU will return to the links Feb. 20-22 at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawai'i.
SOUTHERN MISS
Kyle Ramey shot a final round 74 and Southern Miss posted a team score of 859 to finish in second place at the Sam H. Hall Intercollegiate, played at Canebrake Country Club Nov. 6... Ramey, a senior from Paducah, Ky., finished in fourth place with a final score of 209, six strokes behind the individual champion... Wes Carter shot a final round of 73 for a three-round total of 216 to finish in a tie for 10th... Derek Plucienski, playing as an individual, shot a two-over 73 to finish at 217, which put him in a 12th-place tie. The tournament ended the fall portion of Southern Miss' 2007-08 schedule... The Golden Eagles return to play at the Rio Pinar Invitational on Feb. 25-26 in Orlando, Fla.
TULSA
Tulsa tied with Virginia Tech for first-place at The Landfall Tradition on Sunday afternoon, but Tech was awarded the medalist trophy on the basis of the fifth player's score... Junior Nicolas Geyger led wire-to-wire to claim medalist honors in the men's event, fashioning a 9-under-par 67-68-72=207 over the three days... He finished with a five-stroke margin over Ohio State's Bo Coconis, chipping in from off the green on the final hole to cap a stellar three days... It marked the second-straight year that Geyger has won medalist honors at The Landfall Tradition... Last year, he shared the individual honor with former teammate Mitch Cohlmia... For his efforts, he was named C-USA Men's Golfer of the Week... Tulsa's next tournament will be at the Rio Pinar Invitational on Feb. 25-26, in Orlando, Florida.
UAB
UAB continued to improve during the third and final round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday, and finished tied for seventh overall... The Blazers closed play with a three-day total of 893 (301-296-297) and defeated four teams ranked ahead of them in the latest national poll... The Blazers entered the competition ranked 31st in the nation, and were one of nine teams in the event that are ranked among the top-30 teams in the country... Individually, it was senior Kyle Sapp and junior Zach Sucher who both finished tied for 16th overall with a five-over par 221... Sucher was awarded C-USA Co-Golfer of the Week honors for his performace both in this event and after taking co-medalist honors at the SunTrust Gator Invite a week earlier... The Blazers will next compete at the Seminole Intercollegiate on March 2-4 in Tallahassee, Fla.
No. 23 UCF
UCF junior David Johnson, the C-USA Co-Golfer of the Week, tied for ninth in the individual standings as the Knights' men's golf team concluded play at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at the Sawgrass Country Club on Tuesday... Johnson fired a one-under 71 in the final round to conclude the three-day, three-round event at 218 (+2)...As a team, UCF tied for 13th at the tournament, which featured 10 squads that are ranked in the top-30 nationally... The Knights, who are 23rd, recorded a team score of 901 (+37)... UCF carded its best team score of the event on Tuesday (295, +7)... The Knights will return to action Monday, hosting the two-day Rio Pinar Invitational in Orlando.
UTEP
UTEP wrapped up its fall season by taking 15th place at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate OCt. 29-30 in Las Cruces, N.M... The Miners shot 297 as a team on the final day of the tournament to compile a two-day total of 891 (293-301=297)... Herbert Day tied for 56th place (72-79-71=222), Zac Hildenbrand tied for 60th place (69-79-75=223), Jordan Bucy tied for 63rd place (75-75-74=224), Chad Keohane tied for 84th place (79-72-78=229), and Tanner Taff tied for 84th place (77-75-77=229)... The Miners will return to the links Feb. 20-22 at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
