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 Sophomore transfer Andres Cuenca led Western Carolina with a third-place finish at the Samford Invitational on Tuesday. |
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March 13, 2007
Samford Invitational FINAL RESULTS
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Trussville, Ala. - Battling less than desirable weather conditions, including high winds, Western Carolina sophomore Andres Cuenca tied a tournament-low by carding 66 over the final 18 holes to finished tied for third to help the Catamounts rally to a sixth-place showing at the Samford Invitational. Only two golfers shot the six-under 66 in the three round event, with Cuenca posting the lowest score on the final day at the 6,897-yard Limestone Springs Golf Course.
Western Carolina shot 890 as a team, the ninth-best, 54-hole score in school history, to finish tied with the host Bulldogs.
With three individuals in the top 10, Austin Peay State won the team title, shooting a three-round score of 867 to edge New Orleans (868) - who had the tournament individual medalist, Jose Toledo (209) - by a stroke. Eastern Kentucky was third with a 54-hole score of 880, with Illinois State (883) and Troy (886) rounding out the top five.
Armed with the lowest par-3 scoring in the tournament - a one-under, 2.92 - Cuenca moved from a tie for 20th after Monday's second round into a three-way tie for third place overall. He was also tied for fourth with 33 pars and 13 birdies. His final round of 66 ties his career-low, also shot this season at Liberty's Frank Landrey Invitational, and is tied for the third-lowest round in school history. Also, Cuenca's 54-hole score of 213 (75-72-66) is the 10th-best in WCU history.
Senior Tripp Morrow carded a three-round total of 221 (68-76-77) to finish tied for 13th to give the Catamounts two inside the top 15. Junior Matt Cook rallied from a tough opening day to finish tied for 40th at 229. Rounding out Western's scores were freshmen Ricky Stout (t-50th, 234) and Cody Walker (t-55th, 237).
Western will take its first weekend off this spring, returning to action in two weeks at the Furman Invitational at the Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, S.C., March 23-25. Last year, Cook finished second as the Catamounts placed tied for ninth at the highly-competitive tournament.
Samford Invitational - FINAL RESULTS School Scores 1 Austin Peay State 293 287 287 867 + 3 2 New Orleans 296 283 289 868 + 4 3 Eastern Kentucky 283 290 307 880 + 16 4 Illinois State 296 292 295 883 + 19 5 Troy University 289 291 306 886 + 22 6 Western Carolina 296 300 294 890 + 26 Samford University 305 294 291 890 + 26 8 Tennessee Tech 295 291 308 894 + 30 9 Murray State 299 297 304 900 + 36 10 Morehead State 312 312 297 921 + 57 11 Lipscomb 311 315 310 936 + 72 12 Wofford College 297 317 323 937 + 73 13 Southern Illinois 307 311 323 941 + 77 14 Dayton 316 302 325 943 + 79 15 Tennessee-Martin 310 320 328 958 + 94 16 Tennessee State 318 316 331 965 +101 17 Samford JV 322 331 350 1003 +139T 6 Western Carolina 296 300 294 890 T 3 Andres Cuenca 75 72 66 213 T 13 Tripp Morrow 68 76 77 221 T 40 Matt Cook 80 74 75 229 T 50 Ricky Stout 78 80 76 234 T 55 Cody Walker 75 78 84 237
