NCAA East Regional final round photo galleryRALEIGH, N.C. – The University of South Alabama wrapped up its 2013-14 campaign with the final round of the NCAA East Regional Saturday, and after 54 holes it was freshman Ryan Pope who would pace the Jaguars.
Playing in the event for the first time, Pope led the Jags with a 74 on the last day as well as with a 220 three-round total. Tyler Klava recorded a 222 score for the tournament, putting him one shot ahead of fellow junior Michael Garretson, while Lane Hulse carded a final-round 75 en route to a 225 total, which was one stroke in front of another Jaguar senior, Blake Kelley.
USA would end the tournament in 11th place among the 13 teams in the competition with a three-day total of 878 after recording a 304 group score over the final 18 holes.
"Obviously today did not go like we planned," said Jag head coach Ben Hannan. "It's always a tough day when you're behind as many as we were; you feel like you have to make birdies to get back in the hunt and you press a little bit. On a golf course of this stature that can lead to some bogeys, which happened to us early. That led into a little more pressing which resulted in more bogeys, and it carried on from there.
"I'm very proud of this team, they accomplished a lot this year — getting here is a huge feat, it is extremely difficult in today's golf environment, so we can hang our hats on that. Obviously our goal was to qualify through, but I'm very proud of these guys. They competed well every tournament this year, and represented our university, fans and Birdie Club members with class. We will keep working to get better and look forward to next year."
The top five schools in the field advanced to the NCAA Championship, which is slated to begin on Friday, May 23 in Hutchinson, Kan. No. 5 Georgia Tech posted a 27-under-par 825 team score to claim the title, defeating eighth-ranked Washington by 17 shots. 20th-rated Texas A&M, Kentucky and No. 17 Florida State are also moving on as is Wake Forest's Cyrus Stewart, who earned the individual berth from the regional in the finals after tying for sixth place with a 4-under-par 209 total.
UW's Jonathan Sanders carded a 3-under-par 68 — the third straight round he posted in the 60s — to earn medalist honors with a 10-under-par 203 three-day score. Second-round leader Ollie Schniederjans of Georgia Tech was three strokes behind, finishing in second one shot in front of two other players.
The Jags started the final round on the 10th hole of the par-71, 7,213-yard Lonnie Poole Golf Course, with Pope birdying the 135-yard 17th and No. 1 after making the turn, which was playing at 578 yards. In tying for 38th place in the individual standings — which included 75 competitors — it marked the first time he has led USA since accomplishing the feat at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate to open the spring campaign.
"I'm really happy for Ryan," Hannan stated. "This is a big golf course and he is not known as one of our longer hitters, but he competes and plays the game well. To shoot some of the scores he did around here was certainly very competitive, but I'm most pleased that he has continued to develop throughout the course of this spring — he's a better player now than when he got here. If he continues with this process, very similar to his fellow teammates this week, he's going to be a much better player down the road.
"Ryan can take a lot from this experience; to be a freshman and play against this competition on the biggest stage other than the national championship is something that you can get better from. I know he'll learn from it and be better for it."
Klava led the squad with five birdies in the last round, with four of those coming on his first eight holes. He had fours at both Nos. 11 and 15 — playing at 665 and 549 yards, respectively — while carding a three at the 12th and sinking a four-foot birdie putt on No. 17. His last one came on No. 2, as he would tie for 46th individually.
Garretson opened the round with a birdie at No. 10 while playing the final seven holes 1-under par with a birdie at the 350-yard fourth en route to a tie for 49th, while Hulse's lone birdie of the day came at No. 5 — a 462-yard hole — as he would go on to tie for 60th in the individual standings. Kelley was tied for 63rd place after recording a three at the 16th for his only birdie of the round.
"The hard part is you lose two guys from this group with Blake Kelley and Lane Hulse graduating," Hannan reflected. "I really wanted this [moving on to the national championship] to happen for them because they started this run for our program and really played a significant part of the success we've experienced so far. But we will make it one of these years, and they are going to be a big reason why."
The Jaguars end the year having won one event — the Samford Intercollegiate, held the first week of March — while finishing as runners-up on three occasions. USA posted seven top-five results while participating in 13 events during the season, advancing to an NCAA Regional for the second straight year for the first time since the 1994 and '95 campaigns.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
—USA—
NCAA East Regional
Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh, N.C.
Par 71, 7,213 yards
Team Scores: 1) Georgia Tech 268-272-285—825 (-27); 2) Washington 278-278-286—842; 3) Texas A&M 284-281-284—849; 4) Kentucky 281-279-296—856; 5) Florida State 289-278-293—860; 6) Texas Tech 288-288-288—864; 7) Wake Forest 286-287-296—869; 8) Mercer 291-286-293—870; 9) Minnesota 287-286-299—872; 10) Memphis 290-287-296—873; 11) South Alabama 280-294-304—878; 12) Rice 294-285-307—886; 13) Bethune-Cookman 296-296-305—897.
Individual Leaders: 1) Jonathan Sanders, UW 68-67-68—203 (-10); 2) Ollie Schniederjans, GT 66-68-72—206; T3) Adria Arnaus, A&M 71-70-66—207; T3) Seth Reeves, GT 69-69-69—207; 5) Stephen Powers, UK 67-68-73—208; T6) Cyrus Stewart, WF 69-68-72—209; T6) Bo Andrews, GT 67-68-74—209; 8) Anders Albertson, GT 73-67-71—211; T9) four individuals with 212.
South Alabama Scores: T38) Ryan Pope 72-74-74—220 (+7); T46) Tyler Klava 76-68-78—222; T49) Michael Garretson 68-78-77—223; T60) Lane Hulse 71-79-75—225; T63) Blake Kelley 69-74-83—226.
