The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
C-USA Championship
Men's Golf Finishes Sixth at C-USA Championship
4/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 24, 2002
NAVARRE, Fla. - The UAB men's golf team shot a final-round 299 to finish sixth at the Conference USA Championship Wednesday at The Club at Hidden Creek.
UAB freshman Ryan Thomas, playing in only his fourth tournament of the season, concluded his best tournament of the year Wednesday by finishing sixth individually. The Wales product opened the tournament with rounds of 70-68, but finished out with a 76. The 214 total was the low three-round score for the Blazers.
The Blazers, though, had a difficult time as a team. UAB finished sixth in the 14 team event, shooting 878. Despite the sluggish finish, the score was good enough to beat UAB's previous three-day record of 879 from 2000.
TCU captured the men's title with a final round 284 at the 6,795-yard layout. The title marked the first time in C-USA history that a men's and women's team both captured team honors as TCU won the women's crown in Hattiesburg, Miss. on Sunday.
Houston finished second, six shots back at 864. Their final round 8-under par 280 broke the Cougars' own league record by one stroke. Southern Miss (869) placed third, followed by South Florida (874) and Louisville (876).
Individual medalist, Bret Guetz of TCU held on to a two-day lead, posting a 71 in final-round action. The Horned Frog senior's score of 11-under par 205 set a new tournament record. Houston's Andy Sanders previously held the honor with a 209 in 1999.
St. Louis' Evan Guetz finished in second with 209, while Houston's Simon Robinson fired a final-round 67 to finish one shot back at 210.
UAB All-American Graeme McDowell shot rounds that most would consider a pretty good score, but the 216 total wasn't what he expected. The Portrush, N. Ireland native posted rounds of 72-71-73 to earn him a share of 13th place. But, there was a bright spot in his Sunday.
McDowell, who currently holds the top individual ranking in both national collegiate polls, was named Conference USA Player of the Year for the second straight season. The Ben Hogan Award finalist joins another former Blazer, Chris Devlin, in achieving this feat. Devlin was actually a three-time winner (1997, 1999 and 2000).
McDowell also earned All-Conference honors for his efforts during the season. He is joined by Guertz, Robinson, South Florida's Ricky Carrillo and Tele Wightman, TCU's Andy Doeden and Adam Rubinson, ECU's Jason Harris, Tulane's Chris Wheeler and Southern Miss' Tim Yelverton.
UAB senior Drew Jones was the next low Blazer, as the Johnson, Tenn. native shot 76-72, before closing out with a 1-under par 71 Wednesday. Other Blazer results included Chad Goodwin (80-73-79/232 - T54th) and Craig Gordon (77-78-82/237 - T59).
TCU's J.J. Killeen and Louisville's Brett Jones shared Freshman of the Year honors, while TCU head coach Bill Montigel was named Coach of the Year.
The Blazers don't seem to rest as their schedule continues. UAB will play in the Atlanta Intercollegiate on May 9-10 in preparation for the NCAA Regionals May 16-18.
2002 CONFERENCE USA GOLF AWARDS
Player of the Year
Graeme McDowell, UAB
Freshman of the Year (tie)
Brett Jones, Louisville, J.J. Killeen, TCU
Coach of the Year
Bill Montigel, TCU
All-Tournament Team
Tim Yelverton, Southern Miss
Jason Harris, East Carolina
Simon Robinson, Houston
Evan Frederick, Saint Louis
Bret Guetz, TCU
Tournament Champion
Bret Guetz, TCU*
All-Conference Team
Ricky Carrillo, South Florida
Andy Doeden, TCU
Bret Guetz, TCU
Jason Harris, East Carolina
Graeme McDowell, UAB
Simon Robinson, Houston
Adam Rubinson, TCU
Chris Wheeler, Tulane
Tele Wightman, South Florida
Tim Yelverton, Southern Miss
