MEN'S GOLF OPENS SEASON WITH TIE FOR FIFTH

Monday, September 14

Florence, S.C.

TBA

James Madison University

SPRING HILL SUITES INTERCOLLEGIATE

9/15/2009 8:15:00 PM | Men's Golf

FLORENCE, S.C., Sept. 15, 2009 -- The JMU men's golf team carded a final-round 294 to finish tied for fifth out of 16 teams at the Spring Hill Suites Intercollegiate, held Monday and Tuesday in Florence, S.C. The Dukes carded rounds of 289 and 282 on Monday to finish the two-day event with an 865.

The 865 was the sixth-lowest 54-hole total for the Dukes in school history.

Madison placed three golfers in the top-23 overall, including freshman Ryan Vince (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) and junior Michael Meisenzahl (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) who each tied for 17th. Meisenzahl carded a 71-71-73=215, while Vince shot a 74-67-74=215.

Vince's 67 in the second round of the event tied him with seven other Dukes for the fourth best 18-hole score in team history. It also tied him with three other Madison players for the best individual round by a freshman and stands alone as the best score by a JMU player making his collegiate debut. The only other Dukes to shoot a 67 in their first year were Tim Driver (2005), Dennis Gosier (2002), and Gordon Woody (1979).

Sophomore Mike Smith (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Nease) was the third JMU player in the top-23, tying for 23rd after carding a 70-74-72=216. Junior Matt Neely (Ashland, Va./Patrick Henry) shot a 76-71-75=222 to tie for 51st, while sophomore Chris Wellde (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) tied for 56th after shooting a 74-73-76=223.

Elon's Jayson Judy and Appalachian State's Casey Johnson beat out a field of 83 golfers to finished tied for the tournament's individual championship. Judy shot rounds of 70-67-70=207, while Johnson carded a 69-67-71=207. Georgia Southern's Spencer Fulford (75-63-70=208) and Western Carolina's Tanner Briele (66-72-70=208) tied for third, with Presbyterian's Patrick Coleman (69-68-73=210) rounding out the top five.

Fulfurd shot a tournament and competitive course record 9-under-63 in Monday's second round. The previous competitive course record was 64 set by Tom Carr in 1994 Nike South Carolina Classic.

Georgia Southern took home the team championship, after shooting a 285-280-282=847. The Eagles finished two strokes ahead of second-place Western Carolina, which carded a 282-282-285=849. South Carolina-Aiken (282-278-292=582) finished third, followed by Furman (290-279-292=861) in fourth and JMU, Elon (289-287-289=865), Georgia College & State University (292-282-291=865) and Charleston Southern (284-286-295=865) all tied for fifth.

Dating back to the last season, the Dukes have now finished fifth or better in seven-consecutive events and 11 of the previous 12.

Next up for JMU is a trip to Sunset Beach, N.C. for the SeaTrail Intercollegiate, hosted by Elon University Sept. 25-27.