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 Matt Cook was Western's highest finisher at the 2007 SoCon Men's Golf Championship, placing tied for fourth and earning All-SoCon honors. |
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April 24, 2007
Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship Final Results
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Florence, S.C. - Western Carolina junior Matt Cook carded a two-under, 70, in the final round to rally to a fourth-place finish to lead the Catamounts to a sixth-place showing at the 2007 Southern Conference Men's Gold tournament at the Country Club of South Carolina on Tuesday afternoon. Sophomore transfer Andres Cuenca, who stood in third after both the first and second round, shot four-over to slip into a tie for 11th at the close of the tournament.
The fourth-place showing for Cook marked the third of his WCU career, which includes a fifth-place finish his freshman season and individual medalist honors a year ago. Also, the team 894 was the third-lowest team score in Western's school history at the conference championship with the sixth-place finish WCU's best since placing fifth back in 2002.
Cook and Cuenca, who both ranked one-and-two in the SoCon in scoring average entering tournament play, were named to the 10-member, all-conference squad following play on Tuesday. In addition to Chattanooga's three members on the honorary team, Western's two marked the only multiple selections among the conference schools.
Chattanooga fired a team three-day total 864 to claim its second all-time Southern Conference Championship, its first since 1987. The Mocs finished 11 strokes better than runner-up Georgia Southern which carded an 873 to go nine over par for the tournament. Elon placed third with an 882 with Wofford and UNC Greensboro rounding out the top five followed by Western.
Individually, UNC Greensboro's J.D. Bass claimed his first Southern Conference Championship with a three-day total of 213 to finish three under par. Bass came into the final round tied for eighth place and headed to the front of the field after carding a low-round 68 to take the individual crown.
After shooting five-over par through the first two round, Cook finished strong with a two-under par 70 on Tuesday to rally for a top five finish individually at 217. The Murphy, N.C., native posted two bogeys and one birdie on the back nine after starting the day on hole number 10 to make the turn at one over. An additional bogey on number one moved the junior to two over, but Cook finished with four birdies in his final eight holes for a three-under front and a round of two under.
Cuenca started the day strong, shooting par and birdie on number 10 and 11, respectively, but a plus-four on the par 3 number 12 pushed him to three over. The Spanish sophomore finished the day shooting one-over but could not recover fro the 12th, slipping into a tie for 11th at his first-ever conference tournament.
Freshman Ricky Stout played the first six holes of the day at one-under par, scoring five pars and one birdie. Yet, two bogies sandwiched around a double-bogey moved him to three over and the rookie played the final nine at even par to place 32nd. His classmate, Cody Walker, finished in 45th with a three-day total of 236.
WCU senior Tripp Morrow concluded his collegiate career on Tuesday, shooting 78 over the final round for a 54-hole score of 232 to finish tied for 40th. The Forest City, N.C., native continues to rank among Western's all-time leaders in scoring average.
2007 All-Southern Conference Men's Golf Team
Harrison Moore, College of Charleston
Jonathan Hodge, Chattanooga
Bryce Ledford, Chattanooga
Derek Rende, Chattanooga
Jimmy Lytle, Elon
Bryan Jones, Georgia Southern
J.D. Bass, UNC Greensboro
Matt Cook, Western Carolina
Andres Cuenca, Western Carolina
Neil O'Briain, Wofford
Freshman of the Year: Derek Rende, Chattanooga
Player of the Year: Jonathan Hodge, Chattanooga
Coach of the Year: Mark Guhne, Chattanooga
2007 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship Final Results 1 Chattanooga 293 280 291 864 E 2 Georgia Southern 296 284 293 873 +9 3 Elon University 297 291 294 882 +18 4 Wofford College 295 293 297 885 +21 5 UNC Greensboro 300 298 289 887 +23 6 WESTERN CAROLINA 296 299 299 894 +30 7 Col. of Charleston 298 297 301 896 +32 8 Davidson College 307 300 295 902 +38 9 Appalachian State 309 294 304 907 +43 10 Furman University 307 299 303 909 +456 Western Carolina +30 296 299 299 894 T4 Matt Cook +1 71 76 70 217 T11 Andres Cuenca +3 70 73 76 219 32 Ricky Stout +12 78 75 75 228 T40 Tripp Morrow +16 79 75 78 232 45 Cody Walker +20 77 78 81 236
