FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Day two leaders became tournament champions on Sunday as the UCLA women and the South Carolina men both captured team titles at the 2008 Mason Rudolph Championships hosted at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
UCLA junior Sydnee Michaels was the women’s individual medalist, shooting a three-day total of 205 (-11) to beat Auburn’s Candace Schepperle by four strokes. Michaels carded five birdies during a bogey-free round on Sunday, one day after acing the par-3 16th hole on the North Course.
“This win is a big step and I’m thrilled and honored that I played so well,” Michaels said. “I’m so excited to be a part of this team and I think this is the start to a great year.”
The UCLA women successfully defended their 2007 Mason Rudolph championship by recording a three-day total of 850 (-14), bettering their own tournament record by one stroke. The third-ranked Bruins edged conference rival USC (-8), the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, by six strokes. Day one leader Oklahoma State, host Vanderbilt and second-ranked Arizona State rounded out the top five.
On the men’s side, Kentucky’s Ben Fuqua recorded a three-day total of 198 (-15), including back-to-back rounds of seven-under 65 on Saturday and Sunday, to take medalist honors. Fuqua finished seven strokes ahead of Vanderbilt’s Jon Curran (-8) and MTSU’s Jason Millard (-8).
“This is the best two days of golf I’ve played,” Fuqua said. “I usually live and die by my putter, but I’ve really been working on my ball striking. It really pulled through this weekend and gave me some short opportunities. I’m just happy I was able to capitalize.”
Eleven of the 12 scores that the South Carolina men counted this weekend were at or below par, leading the Gamecocks (-13) to an eight-stroke win over Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky (-5). Four out of the top five teams came from the SEC, including Mississippi State (-2) in third place and host Vanderbilt (+3) in fifth. Middle Tennessee State (+2) placed fourth.
“I’m proud that our team got the job done,” South Carolina Head Coach Bill McDonald said. “This is a hard-working group of guys, and they played really solid this weekend. We almost reached our goal of having five scores under par in one round, and overall this was a great tournament for us.”
For the Commodore men, Curran recorded three rounds below par this weekend to earn runner-up honors at the Mason Rudolph Championship for the second time in his career. The Hopkinton, Mass., native led the Commodores in scoring all three days, including Sunday’s three-under 68. Junior Hudson Johnson placed 16th at one-over for the tournament after a two-over 73 in the final round. Sophomore Ryan Haselden tied his career low round Sunday, shooting an even-par 71 on the South Course. Senior Tyler Matthews and sophomore Adam Hofmann both shot three-over 74’s in the final round to place in 23rd and 60th place, respectively.
“I thought everything went off well this weekend,” VU Men’s Golf Head Coach Tom Shaw said. “The SEC really came out and showed the strength of our conference by placing four teams in the top five. Looking ahead to April, you know the field for the SEC Championship is going to be very strong.”
On the women’s side, freshman Marina Alex (-4) led the Commodores with a two-under 70 on Sunday to place sixth in her first collegiate event. Sophomore Megan Grehan (-3), the day-two leader, shot a seven-over 77 in the final round to drop to seventh place. Junior Brooke Goodwin and freshman Andrea Messer tied for 39th place at eight-over, while senior Jacqui Concolino finished in a tie for 45th at nine-over.
“We’re having some fun this year and we have a lot of positives to take away from this week,” VU Head Women’s Coach Greg Allen said. “We were in the final group, which is where you want to be to experience the pressure of winning the tournament, and Megan Grehan led all individuals after two rounds. Both of those accomplishments were huge. We hit some good golf shots this week, and we made a lot of birdies.”
The Vanderbilt women continue their season next weekend at the Tar Hil Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C., while the men have four weeks until their next event, the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Ridges in Jonesborough, Tenn., Oct. 24-26.
AGATE
Men’s Team Totals
1. South Carolina – 281-280-278–839 (-13)
2. Kentucky – 285-283-279–847 (-5)
3. Mississippi St. – 291-282-277–850 (-2)
4. MTSU – 294-282-278–854 (+2)
5. Vanderbilt – 283-286-286–855 (+3)
6. South Alabama – 288-279-296–863 (+11)
7. Memphis – 295-284-285–864 (+12)
8. Eastern Michigan – 289-290-288–867 (+15)
9. Arkansas State – 284-288-297–869 (+17)
9. UNC Greensboro – 298-280-291–869 (+17)
10. Purdue – 296-293-291–870 (+18)
11. Kennesaw State – 286-288-298–872 (+20)
12. Western Carolina – 289-294-296–879 (+27)
13. Belmont – 295-290-296–881 (+29)
14. Western Kentucky – 300-292-295–887 (+35)
15. Iowa State – 305-289-296–890 (+38)
16. Tennessee State – 314-293-319 (+74)
Men’s Individual (Top 10 Individuals, Vanderbilt scores)
1. Ben Fuqua, Kentucky – 68-65-65–198 (-15)
2. Jon Curran, Vanderbilt – 67-70-68–205 (-8)
2. Jason Millard, MTSU – 69-65-71–205 (-8)
4. Mark Silvers II, South Carolina – 70-69-69–208 (-5)
5. Jack Hiluta, South Alabama – 69-70-70–209 (-4)
5. Michael Tulacz, Kennesaw St. – 68-71-70–209 (-4)
7. George Bryan IV, South Carolina – 69-72-69–210 (-3)
8. Carlos Sainz, Mississippi St. – 70-73-68–211 (-2)
9. Danny Amundson, Belmont – 69-69-74–212 (-1)
9. Rick Cochran, MTSU – 76-68-68–212 (-1)
9. Lee Heaton, Mississippi St. – 71-75-66–212 (-1)
9. Patrick Rada, South Carolina – 71-70-71–212 (-1)
9. Christopher Ross, Eastern Michigan – 74-67-71–212 (-1)
16. Hudson Johnson, Vanderbilt – 70-71-73–214 (+1)
T-23. Tyler Matthews, Vanderbilt – 71-72-74–217 (+4)
T-43. Ryan Haselden, Vanderbilt – 75-74-71–220 (+7)
T-43. Chris Rockwell, Vanderbilt – 76-70-74–220 (+7)
T-53. John Ebert, Vanderbilt – 79-70-73–222 (+9)
T-60. Adam Hofmann, Vanderbilt – 76-73-74–223 (+10)
T-71. Trey DelGreco, Vanderbilt – 76-76-74–226 (+13)
T-76. Craig Tallent, Vanderbilt – 83-70-75–228 (+15)
Women’s Team Totals
1. UCLA – 287-277-286–850 (-14)
2. USC – 288-285-283–856 (-8)
3. Oklahoma State – 286-282-295–863 (-1)
4. Vanderbilt – 291-281-296–868 (+4)
5. Arizona State – 289-291-293–873 (+9)
6. Duke – 292-287-303–882 (+18)
7. Alabama – 298-292-293–883 (+19)
8. Purdue – 302-294-294–890 (+26)
9. Auburn – 298-306-287–891 (+27)
10. Florida – 292-296-306–894 (+30)
11. Arizona – 297-306-293–896 (+32)
12. Arkansas – 298-299-300–897 (+33)
13. Chattanooga – 308-292-302–902 (+38)
14. Wake Forest – 300-301-302–903 (+39)
15. Stanford – 313-297-297–907 (+43)
16. Tennessee – 307-299-305–911 (+47)
17. UCF – 309-304-301–914 (+50)
Individual Totals (Top 10, Vanderbilt scores)
1. Sydnee Michaels, UCLA – 68-70-67–205 (-11)
2. Candace Schepperle, Auburn – 67-70-72–209 (-7)
3. Stefanie Endstrasser, USC – 71-70-69–210 (-6)
3. Pernilla Lindberg, Oklahoma St. – 71-68-71–210 (-6)
3. Jennifer Song, USC – 71-68-71–210 (-6)
6. Marina Alex, Vanderbilt – 69-73-70–212 (-4)
7. Kathleen Ekey, Alabama – 72-72-69–213 (-3)
7. Megan Grehan, Vanderbilt – 71-65-77–213 (-3)
7. Anna Nordqvist, Arizona St. – 73-71-69–213 (-3)
10. Amanda Blumenherst, Duke – 67-72-75–214 (-2)
10. Jennie Lee, Duke – 73-67-74–214 (-2)
10. Lizette Salas, USC – 71-73-70–214 (-2)
10. Glory Yang, UCLA – 74-69-71–214 (-2)
T-39. Brooke Goodwin, Vanderbilt – 79-70-75–224 (+8)
T-39. Andra Messer, Vanderbilt – 74-74-76–224 (+8)
T-45. Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt – 77-73-75–225 (+9)
89. Christine Brown, Vanderbilt – 87-82-86–255 (+39)
