Dade City, Fla. – Appearing in their third straight NCAA Regional Golf Tournament, the Erskine Flying Fleet finished 16
th in this year's 20 team field hosted at the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club (Par 72). Sophomore
Paul Fitzgerald (Charlotte, NC, Providence Day ) led the Flying Fleet finishing the three day tournament tied for 33
rd place overall with a seven over par (75-73-75-223).
Nova Southeastern won the tournament, overcoming an eight stroke deficit to win the tournament comfortably by ten strokes (281-289-275-845). Nova Southeastern shot a tournament-best 275 on the final day, twelve strokes better than any other team, to catch Lynn University and capture the title.
Lynn University, who led on the first two days, finished second with a nine under par (276-286-293-855). Lynn and Nova Southeastern were the only two schools to finish under par for the tournament.
The other four teams earning a trip to the national tournament were Barry University, USC-Aiken, St. Leo and Florida Southern.
The Flying Fleet moved into contention for a trip to the national tournament following the second round. The Fleet shot a 296 to move into a tie for 12
th place and sat just 8 strokes behind Florida Southern for sixth place. Junior
Tyler Lucas (Rock Hill, SC, Northwestern High School) and Fitzgerald led the Fleet's charge that day up the leaderboard firing par and one over par.
The Fleet did not carry the momentum into the final round, slipping to 16
th place.
Lucas finished tied for 39
th place overall, shooting a respectable 78-72-74-224 to finish eight over par.
Seniors
Brad Thorne (Moore, SC, Oakbrook Preparatory School) and
Ford Blanchard (Orangeburg, SC, Orangeburg Preparatory Schools) rounded out the scoring for the Fleet with both finishing tied for 74
th place with a 232 for the tournament.
Nova Southeastern took the top three spots with Richard Mansell winning the tournament by two strokes over teammates Oscar Lengden and Santiago Gomez. Mansell fired an impressive seven under par for the tournament, including a sizzling 67 in the final round to clinch individual medalist honors.
Final Results
