Men's Golf Finishes Third at Tennessee

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October 6, 1998

KNOXVILLE, TN — Led by top-10 finishes by freshman Steve Marino and sophomore Mike Mitchell, the University of Virginia golf team turned in its best finish of the fall season by placing third at the Tennessee Tournament of Champions at the Fox Den Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn. The Cavaliers finished with a team total of 868, six strokes behind North Florida.

Cavalier head coach Mike Moraghan put together one of his youngest squads in recent memory for this tournament and the move paid off as Marino tied for third, the best finish by a Cavalier this fall.Marino, playing in just his third collegiate tournament, finished with a 3-under par 213 (70-73-70). He began todays final round in ninth place, but jumped in the standings following todays 70.

Mitchell also turned in his best performance of the fall. He tied for ninth with a 1-under par 215. He shot a 68 in yesterdays first round, the low score of the round and the fourth-lowest of the tournament. His 215 is the best 54-hole score of his career.

Sophomore Cameron Yancey, who has gotten off to a slow start this fall, joined the duo in posting fall bests. He finished tied for 29th with a 3-over par 219 (74-72-73). Junior James Driscoll finished 36th at 221 (77-74-70) and freshman Shivin Kwatra finished tied for 66th at 233 (80-77-76).The Cavaliers began todays final round in sixth place, but their 287 today moved them ahead of East Tennessee State, Mississippi, and Tennessee for third. UVas 287 was the second-best round of the day and the Cavaliers best round this fall by five strokes.

N.C. State ran away with the team title. The Wolfpacks 844 was 18 strokes ahead of North Florida. The Wolfpack also featured the top-two finishers. Mark Gauley shot a 9-under par 207 to beat teammate James Bunch by three strokes for medalist honors.

    Team Scores                        Top 10 Individuals    1.  N.C. State  844 (-20)          1.  Mark Gauley, N.C. State 207    2.  North Florida   862            2.  James Bunch, N.C. State 210    3.  Virginia    868                3.  Steve Marino, Virginia  213    4.  Tennessee   869                    Andy Brimer, Tennessee  213    5.  East Tennessee State    872        Carl Pettersson, N.C. State 213        Southern California 872 6.         Rich Morris, Arkansas   214        Mississippi 872                    Troy Muller, Mississippi    214    8.  Furman  876                        Shawn Koch, E. Tennessee State  214    9.  Florida Southern    883        9.  Mike Mitchell, Virginia 215    10. Mississippi State   886            Chris Wisler, E. Tennessee State    215    11. LSU 891                            Nick Jones, Southern California 215    12. Auburn  893         13. Arkansas    898          14. Florida State   905                                                                                            Other Virginia GolfersT29.    Cameron Yancey  219 36.    James Driscoll  221T66.    Shivin Kwatra   233