Cameron rallies to claim South Central crown
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DUNCAN, Okla. (May 3) - Cameron University head coach Jerry Hrnciar entered the final round of the NCAA Division II Men's Golf South/South Central Super Regional on Wednesday feeling his team needed to shoot a team score of 288 to have a chance at the South Central regional title. Turns out, he was right.
The Aggies got off to a sizzling start and finished with a one-under-par team score of 287, winning the regional crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II national championships with a two-stroke victory over St. Mary's. Central Oklahoma, which entered Wednesday's final round with a nine-stroke lead over the Aggies, slipped to third with a 12-over 300 team score and did not qualify for one of three at-large bids to nationals from the Super Regional. UCO finished with a total of 878 (+14) to tie St. Edward's for third in the South Central.
Florida Southern led from start to finish to claim the automatic bid in the South Region, posting an even-par 288 on the final day to win by four strokes over Lynn University. FSC, which opened the tournament with an eye-popping 10-under team score in Monday's first round, saw its lead dwindle to just one stroke midway through the final round, as Lynn turned in a five-under team score of 283 to pressure the third-ranked Mocs. Lynn and St. Mary's each earned at-large bids to the national tournament, along with the University of North Alabama, which finished third in the South Region with a team total of 875 (+11).
Individual honors in the South Central region went to Cameron's Travis Lovins, who shot a final-round 70 on the par-72 layout at The Territory Golf Club to top Northeastern State's Brad Risenhoover by one stroke. Both players entered Wednesday's final round tied for second at three-under, trailing UCO's Mitch Boles, who slipped to fifth in the individual race with a final-round 77.
West Florida's Will Grace claimed medalist honors in the South and earned the Super Regional's individual at-large bid to the national tournament. Grace shot a 69 on Wednesday for a three-round total of 208 (-8), defeating Heath Jones of North Alabama and Rollins College's Dan Walters by one stroke.
In addition to Lovins, two other Cameron players finished among the top 15 in the South Central race. Peter Svajlen tied for 11th with a three-round total of 222 (+6) and Owen Mahaffey tied for 15th at 224. Matt Trammell shot even-par 72 on Wednesday for a 225 total, while Cane Shumaker rallied with a final-round 70 to help the Aggie cause and finished with a 231 total.
Cameron will be making its eighth appearance in the Division II National Championships, which will be played at the Glade Springs Resort course in Daniels, W.Va., beginning May 16. The Aggies' best effort at the national meet is a third-place showing in 1996. Cameron finished 15th in its last trip to nationals in 2002. Cameron also made eight trips to the NAIA national championships from 1977 to 1987, winning a National Championship under Hrnciar in 1983.
