DAVIE, Fla. – With its chances of earning the program's first-ever berth in the NCAA National Championship all but written off after a pair of disappointing rounds, the Anderson men's golf team responded by carding the 12th-best round in program history and finished 10th, Saturday in the third and final round of the 2023 NCAA Southeast/South Regional Championship.
"While disappointed we didn't make it to nationals, I couldn't be more proud of this men's team," said Anderson Director of Golf Danny Neal. "."The year they had was incredible! To have won seven times and be ranked number 1 in the nation all year long is an incredible achievement! Not to mention winning the SAC Championship and taking home every major award in the conference! I can't overstate how much we are going to miss Reece, Cal and Parker next year. They have all been a big part of our success this year. And adding Dro to our family this year has definitely added some fire to the team! Dro, Simon, Daniel and Sam can only hope we are able to bring in teammates for them next year that will enable the men's team to continue to thrive. Go Trojans!"
Nova Southeastern hosted the three-day, 54-hole tournament at the Grande Oaks Golf Club on a par-71, 6,725-yard, layout.
West Florida overcame a four-shot deficit during Saturday's third round and moved past Barry to claim the team title by two strokes over the Buccaneers.
Nova Southeastern climbed from eighth place into third, while North Georgia finished one stroke further back in fourth. Lee and Georgia Southwestern shared fifth place to finish out the qualifiers for next week's national championships.
Clayton State and Shorter, which held a three-stroke lead following Thursday's opening round, continued its descent down the leaderboard and finished in a tie for seventh place. Florida Southern claimed the ninth slot, while the Trojans, who made the biggest jump of the day moved from 16th into the 10th spot after notching 15 birdies during the final round, including a dozen on the front 9 alone.
Lynn finished in 11th place, with Carson-Newman and USC Aiken finishing 12th and 13th, respectively. Limestone claimed 14th place, while Saint Leo, Lander, Lincoln Memorial, Tampa, Barton and Spring Hill rounded out the 20-team field.
Palm Beach Atlantic's Andrew Riley (62-70-72--204) led wire-to-wire and claimed a two-shot victory over West Florida's Felipe Garces Garzon (70-67-69-206). Lander's Linus Jonsson (71-68-68—207) Lynn's Jose Ramirez (67-72-68—207) and defending regional champion, A.J. Ewart (67-67-73—207) from Barry, all finished in a three-way tie for third place.
AU junior Calahan Keever carded four birdies and jumped 13 spots to finish with a share of 16th place, alongside senior Reece Coleman, who posted three birdies on the day. Freshman Alejandro de Castro vaulted 20 spots up the individual leaderboard and finished in a tie for 27th place after recording five birdies on Saturday. Sophomore Simon Wright claimed a share of 95th place, with junior Daniel Coker finishing in a tie for 101st.
The top six teams – West Florida, Barry, Nova Southeastern, North Georgia, Lee and Georgia Southwestern - along with Riley and Ramirez, now advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships, which are scheduled to run Monday through Friday (May 22-26) at the Avon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio.
10 Anderson 289 293 281 863
T16 Reece Coleman 69 73 70 212
T16 Calahan Keever 70 73 69 212
T27 Alejandro de Castro 73 72 69 214
T95 Simon Wright 77 75 76 228
T101 Daniel Coker 82 75 73 230
Teams Scores
1 West Florida 277 286 283 846 -6
2 Barry 276 283 289 848 -4
3 Nova Southeastern 287 287 278 852 E
4 North Georgia 282 286 285 853 +1
T5 Lee 283 286 285 854 +2
T5 Georgia Southwestern 284 289 281 854 +2
T7 Clayton State 281 291 285 857 +5
T7 Shorter 272 298 287 857 +5
9 Florida Southern 278 297 287 862 +10
10 Anderson 289 293 281 863 +11
11 Lynn 275 305 284 864 +12
12 Carson-Newman 285 290 290 865 +13
13 USC Aiken 282 292 292 866 +14
14 Limestone 285 301 282 868 +16
15 Saint Leo 294 291 285 870 +18
16 Lander 283 294 294 871 +19
17 Lincoln Memorial 289 296 288 873 +21
18 Tampa 291 289 294 874 +22
19 Barton 289 290 297 876 +24
20 Spring Hill 295 299 294 888 +36
Notables
• AU's three-round 863 matched the eighth-lowest 54-hole score in school history.
• The 20-team field included 15 of the nation's top-25 squads.
• Coleman' first-round 69 and Keever's third-round 69 matched the seventh-best 18-hole scores in program history.
• The Trojans' third-round, 3-under 281 matched the 12-lowest 54-hole score in program history.
• The Trojans' third-round, 3-under 281 marked AU's lowest round of the Black and Gold's NCAA Tournament history.
• AU's first-round, 5-over-par 289 marked the Trojans' second-lowest round of the Black and Gold's NCAA Tournament history.
• The Trojans' second round 293 equaled AU's third-lowest round of the Black and Gold's NCAA Tournament history.
• Coleman's opening-round, de Castro's third-round and Keever's final-round 2-under 69s marked AU's lowest rounds of the Trojans' NCAA Tournament history.
• Keever's first-round and Coleman's third-round 70s marked AU's fourth-lowest rounds of the Trojans' NCAA Tournament history.
• AU also made appearances at the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008 NCAA Atlantic Regionals.
• AU claimed its highest finish (3rd) at Mooresville, N.C., in 2008.
• The Black and Gold recorded sixth-place performances in 2005 and 2007 after notching back-to-back fifth-place finishes in 2003-04.
• Lee will be looking to defend its national championship.
• Florida Southern has won the national championship 13 times and has finished as runners-up on four occasions since 1963. The Mocs were seeking their first title since 2017 and just their second since 2010.
• USC Aiken won three consecutive national championships from 2004-06,
• Barry, Nova Southeastern, West Florida, Lynn and Tampa have each taken home the championship hardware on two occasions.
• Tampa was seeking its first national title since going back-to-back in 1987 and 1988.
• The field included three of the top four golfers in the nation, seven of the country's top-10 golfers and nearly half of the nation's top-25 golfers.
