By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
NORMAN, Okla. – The 2021-22 University of Tennessee at Martin golf season concluded today as the Skyhawks took part in the third and final round of the NCAA Regional hosted at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.
The back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference champion UT Martin squad posted a 308 (+20) today, finishing its tournament with an overall score of 910 (+46). That score placed the Skyhawks 12th in the stacked field that included nine teams ranked in the national top-50.
Jonathan Xoinis led UT Martin today as he accounted for three of the team’s five birdies on the day. The redshirt freshman from Chattanooga, Tenn. additionally registered 11 pars today for a final tally of 74 (+2) on the scorecard.
Following closely behind was Bryson Morrell (75, +3), who played his final 12 holes at even par (including one birdie). Garrett Chumley was responsible for one birdie on the way to a 79 (+7) while Tate Chumley (80, +8) was the Skyhawks’ final member of the scoring lineup. Jacob Uehlein (82, +10) also represented UT Martin today.
Overall, Xoinis capped off his NCAA Regional debut with a team-best 221 (+5), finishing 34th in the field of 75 golfers. Morrell finished with a 225 (+9) as he was followed by Tate Chumley (229, +13), Garrett Chumley (238, +22) and Uehlein (241, +25).
For the tournament, Xoinis accumulated a team-best 4.75 par-5 scoring average (-3) to go along with 11 birdies. Tate Chumley paced the Skyhawks in par-3 scoring (3.08, +1) while Morrell’s 4.13 (+4) par-4 scoring average guided the Skyhawks. The latter two also tied for the team lead with 33 pars.
“We always want to compete until the very last hole is played – that’s been our message all year,” UT Martin head coach Austin Swafford said. “But I also think making it to the postseason is about enjoying the moment and soaking that in. We have a young team and I’m so proud of them for how they played this whole year – they’ve bought in to everything they’ve been asked to do. Today was an experience they can take with them not only now but in the years going forward. We’re proud to represent UT Martin and the OVC – we’re going to learn from this experience and we’re going to be better for it.”
The Skyhawks wrap up a phenomenal 2021-22 campaign where they won five tournament titles, including the program’s third OVC championship since 2016. UT Martin boasted four OVC postseason honorees and four OVC Golfer of the Week awards while winning the OVC Team Sportsmanship Award for the eighth consecutive year.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information