No. 2 Bulldogs win again
No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast had three golfers finish in the top 10 at the Coastal Alabama Invitational, and the Bulldogs won for the sixth time this season. They beat Eastern Florida State by four shots at Timber Creek Golf Club in Daphne, Ala.
EFSU is ranked sixth in NJCAA Division I, while Gulf Coast plays in Division II.
"That's one of the best mentally tough performances I've ever seen from our team," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "Any outside distractions or conditions that might have affected us in the past, these guys were able to work through it. They were very patient and I could not be more proud of their performance, especially on the mental side."
It's only the second time Gulf Coast has won the tournament, which is filled with D-I teams. The Bulldogs won in a playoff in 2019.
Alessio Graziani (So., Johannesburg, South Africa/Beaulieu College) finished at 1-under tied for second. He was one shot behind Eastern Florida State's Adam Vermut.
"He continued to hit the ball well off the tee all week," Thornton said. "With his length, it put him in a great place to score. He had a chance down the stretch to win the tournament, and I was really proud of the way he handled himself on the back nine. He just came up a shot short. I'm very proud of his performance this week."
Chase Kaiser (So., Natchez/Cathedral) shot 2-over Tuesday to finish tied for seventh, and Will Burnham (Fr., Jackson/Jackson Prep) was 1-over in the final round to finish another shot back in ninth.
After a rough first round, Jackson Wise (Fr., Pontotoc/North Pontotoc) shot 73. Andrew Zielinski (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) had picked up the slack on Monday with a 74.
"It was an overall team performance," Thornton said. "We didn't have anybody win medalist, but we still won by 4. That's a great performance."
Gulf Coast will return to MACCC play on March 6-7. The Bulldogs will be at the East Central Invitational, which will be played at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia.
Team scores |
|
| Team | Scores |
|---|---|
| 1. Gulf Coast | 293-292—585 (+9) |
| 2. Eastern Florida State | 293-296—589 (+13) |
| 3. Jefferson State | 299-299—598 (+22) |
| 4. Wallace State | 298-301—599 (+23) |
| 5. Central Alabama | 297-314—611 (+35) |
| 6. Calhoun | 300-316—616 (+40) |
| 7. Coastal Alabama | 312-309—621 (+45) |
| T8. Enterprise State | 309-319—628 (+52) |
| T8. Andrew | 310-318—628 (+52) |
| 10. Snead State | 316-314—630 (+54) |
| 11. Shelton State | 318-331—649 (+73) |
| 12. Northeast Mississippi | 324-336—660 (+84) |
| 13. Southern Union | 326-335—661 (+85) |
| 14. East Central | 334-333—667 (+91) |
| 15. Northeast Alabama | 349-322—671 (+95) |
| 16. Oxford Emory | 340-359—699 (+123) |
MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| T2. Alessio Graziani | 71-72—143 (-1) |
| T7. Chase Kaiser | 73-74—147 (+3) |
| 9. Will Burnham | 75-73—148 (+4) |
| T22. Jackson Wise | 81-73—154 (+10) |
| T28. Andrew Zielinski | 74-81—155 (+11) |
For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
