The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Cleveland Golf Kiawah Island Intercollegiate
Linksters Finish Second At Kiawah Island Intercollegiate To Open Season
9/10/2002 | Men's Golf
Sept. 10, 2002
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. - The Ole Miss men's golf team continued the strong play exhibited in the first day of play, and relied on the strength of two of its newcomers to finish in second place at the Cleveland Golf/Kiawah Island Intercollegiate with a score of 299-291-297-887 on Tuesday.
Ole Miss finished second to the host team, College of Charleston who finished eight strokes ahead of the Rebels with a three day total of 879. The tournament was played at the Turtle Point golf course, a par-72, 7,000-yard course.
"We put some pressure on them today, but were not quite able to close that gap," said Ole Miss head coach Woody Cowart. "Had we been closer after the first day, or with a few different bounces of the ball, then things might have been different."
Ole Miss was boosted by the strong play of two of its newcomers in Jonathan Lenz, a freshman from San Antonio, Texas, and Pope Spruiell, a transfer from Shelton State Community College in Alabama.
Lenz and Spruiell both finished tied for fifth overall. The freshman tallied a three-day score of 75-72-73-220, while the junior transfer fired a 74-73-73-220. Both players were competing in their first tournament for the Rebels.
"I am rather excited about what this means for our team in the future," Cowart said. "Two have two players like Jonathan and Pope added to a team with two experienced players like Jordan Dempsey and Jarrod Gardner really provides this team with a boost."
Dempsey and Gardner both finished in the top-25 as well for the tournament. Gardner, a sophomore from Austin, Texas, fired a three day total of 77-73-73-223 to tie for the No. 21 spot overall, while Dempsey, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., fired a 73-73-78-224 to finish tied for the No. 23 spot.
Sophomore David Shields also competed for the Rebels and rounded out the squad with an 82-78-81-241, to finish the tournament tied for the No. 73 spot. Shields was competing in his first tournament for the Rebels as well.
The Rebels will return to the links September 16-17, when they compete at the Mason Rudolph Championships in Franklin, Tenn. Ole Miss opened the 2001-02 season at the Mason Rudolph where they finished third overall.
TEAM SCORES
1. College of Charleston 293-288-298-879
2. OLE MISS 299-291-297-887
3. Virginia Tech 292-303-301-896
4. Alabama 300-294-303-897
5. Baylor 301-300-298-899
6. Kentucky 306-299-296-901
7. Vanderbilt 293-301-308-902
8. South Carolina-Aiken 306-299-300-905
9. Florida State 297-304-305-906
10. Kent State 306-301-300-907
11. Tulsa 313-296-305-914
12. NC State 301-308-307-916
13. South Carolina 309-301-310-920
Maryland 307-304-309-920
LSU 296-314-310-920
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T5. Pope Spruiell 74-73-73-220
T5. Jonathan Lenz 75-72-73-220
T21. Jarrod Gardner 77-73-73-223
T23. Jordan Dempsey 73-73-78-224
T73. David Shields 82-78-81-241
