By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MIMS, Fla. – In a rematch of last year’s Ohio Valley Conference Championship outing, the University of Tennessee at Martin prevailed against Tennessee Tech on the final day of the Carpenter/Chaney Classic played at Indian River Preserve Golf Club.
The Skyhawks posted a 4.5-1.5 victory against the Golden Eagles today, capturing the Carpenter Group championship crown after going 2-1 in the two-day tournament. UT Martin won the group title over Bellarmine, Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech while Lindenwood went 3-0 to claim the championship in the Chaney Group (which included Eastern Kentucky, Missouri State, Morehead State, Omaha and SIUE).
“I’m really proud of how the team competed this week,” Skyhawk head coach Austin Swafford said. “We talked about playing smart, disciplined golf and competing for 18 holes. They did a great job of that in today’s final match and this event gives us the confidence we need going forward. We have areas to improve and address but are going to take things one tournament at a time – this was certainly a great start to the spring.”
Ethan Ray got off to a blazing start this morning and never looked back, jumping out to a 5Up lead through seven holes before capping off a dominant 6&5 victory. Jonathan Xoinis also benefitted from a hot start as he won four holes in a row on the front-nine en route to a 5&3 triumph.
UT Martin saw the other four head-to-head matchups come down to the wire. Dax Isbell won three of the first five holes on the back-nine and held on for a 2&1 triumph. Jacob Uehlein also won by a 2&1 margin, claiming five of seven holes during one stretch on the front-nine.
Bryson Morrell won six of the first 10 holes in his matchup before settling for an all-square result. Cayden Chambers gave a valiant effort as he was tied through 10 holes before falling by a narrow 2&1 score.
For the tournament, Xoinis was unbeaten with a 2-0-1 record while Chambers, Isbell, Ray and Uehlein each went 2-1. Morrell posted a 1-1-1 mark to cap off a highly successful weekend for the Skyhawks.
UT Martin heads back to Florida next weekend as it will take part in the Mickey Mouse Intercollegiate located at Disney’s Palm Golf Course in Orlando. The event will take place on Feb. 19-21 and is hosted by Bellarmine.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information