Bulldogs finish 5th at NJCAA Tourney
PLYMOUTH, Ind. — Mississippi Gulf Coast had nearly erased a daunting 10-shot deficit when they made the turn onto the back nine of the final round of the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship, but the Bulldogs stumbled down the stretch to a fifth-place finish.
"I thought with 14 or 15 holes left in the tournament, we got within a few shots and had a chance," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "But that's golf sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't go your way. This afternoon, it didn't for us."
The Bulldogs finished 14 shots back of first-time champs Kirkwood. Parkland was second, and Walters State won a playoff against South Mountain for third.
Chase Kaiser (So., Natchez/Cathedral), who started the day tied for the lead, shot his first over-par round of the tournament and finished tied for seventh. Will Burnham (Fr., Jackson/Jackson Prep) shot even-par 72 to move seven spots up the board to a 12th-place tie.
Kaiser and Burnham were named to the All-Tournament Team. Kaiser earned First-Team NJCAA All-American honors, and Burnham was on the Second Team. Alessio Graziani, who finished tied for 23rd, earned honorable mention.
The Bulldogs made nine birdies on the first five holes and were within three shots of Parkland making the turn.
Gulf Coast lost to a community team for the first time all season. The Bulldogs blitzed through the MACCC and Gulf District regular-season and postseason undefeated, setting a school record with 11 tournament wins.
"It's been a great season," Thornton said. "I'm proud of these guys. I'm thankful for Chase and Lessi and their two years here. I'm excited to follow them and excited to have this freshman group back this fall."
Gulf Coast picked up a piece of hardware at the awards ceremony. The Bulldogs won the tournament's Sportsmanship Award.
"It's been a great group of guys all year," Thornton said. "I think they've handled their business well. It's been a very responsible group of young men so far throughout the year. I'm very pleased to have been their coach this year."
Team scores |
|
| Team | Scores |
|---|---|
| 1. Kirkwood | 284-291-294-299—1168 (+16) |
| 2. Parkland | 283-295-301-297—1176 (+24) |
| 3. South Mountain | 281-300-299-300—1180 (+28) |
| 4. Walters State | 293-293-301-293—1180 (+28) |
| 5. Gulf Coast | 291-296-292-303—1182 (+30) |
| 6. Roane State | 285-297-316-290—1188 (+36) |
| 7. Glendale | 299-298-302-299—1198 (+46) |
| 8. Des Moines Area | 292-305-302-301—1200 (+48) |
| 9. Heartland | 287-310-295-314—1206 (+54) |
| 10. Alexandria Tech | 304-304-301-300—1209 (+57) |
| 11. Meridian | 297-303-307-308—1215 (+63) |
| 12. Cleveland State | 293-313-310-306—1222 (+70) |
| 13. Iowa Lakes | 304-303-309-314—1230 (+78) |
| 14. Northeast Mississippi | 308-301-318-307—1234 (+82) |
| 15. Seminole State | 315-311-315-317—1258 (+106) |
| 16. Highland | 308-325-314-312—1259 (+107) |
| 17. Illinois Central | 316-308-316-324—1264 (+112) |
| 18. Murray State | 320-319-315-322—1276 (+124) |
| 19. Grand Rapids | 314-319-325-322—1280 (+128) |
| 20. Muskegon | 317-317-321-329—1284 (+132) |
| 21. Black Hawk | 326-320-321-334—1301 (+149) |
| 22. Glen Oaks | 330-341-336-335—1342 (+190) |
MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| T7. Chase Kaiser | 71-70-72-77—290 (+2) |
| T12. Will Burnham | 76-73-73-72—294 (+6) |
| T23. Alessio Graziani | 70-77-76-75—298 (+10) |
| —. Andrew Zielinski | 77-79-XX-80 |
| —. Jackson Wise | 74-XX-71-79 |
| —. Kyle Davidson | XX-76-81-XX |
For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
