HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Led by Scott Brown, Roberto Diaz, and Clint Smith, USC Aiken held off a second-round charge from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga to claim the team title at the inaugural Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate Tournament, completed Tuesday (Feb. 28).

 

The second round, which was suspended by darkness on Monday, was completed on Tuesday morning as was the regularly schedule third round. The 54-hole event was played on the par 72, 6,875-yard Wexford Plantation Golf Course.

 

Heading into the final 18 holes, USCA led Chattanooga by only one stroke, but the Pacers fired a final-round 295 team score to win by seven strokes with a 900 tally. USCA is the two-time defending NCAA Division II national champion.

 

Chattanooga was second at 907, followed by host Francis Marion University (911), Eastern Michigan University (913), Marquette University (916), Furman University (920), Davidson College and Kansas State University (923), Northern Illinois University (924), Wofford College (925), East Carolina University (926), University of Toledo (927), Miami University (Ohio) (937), University of Iowa (947), and Iowa State University (954).

 

Eastern Michigan's Korey Mahoney won the individual title with rounds of 71 and 74 on Tuesday to finish at 1-under-par 215. Brown, who led the individual standings after an opening-round 67, fired a 78 and 77 to finish second at 6-over-par 222.

 

Nicholas Schenk (79-72-73=224) of NIU and Wofford's Andrew Hewitt (79-72-73=224) finished tied for third place. Five golfers tied for fifth place: Colin Floyd of FMU (82-72-71=225), Neil O'Briain of Wofford (76-73-76=225), Bryce Ledford of Chattanooga (73-76-76=225), Diaz (74-76-75=225), and Ryan Swelin of Miami (78-77-70=225). Steve Mayo of Davidson and Ted Gray of Marquette tied for 10th position at 226.

 

The other four Francis Marion golfers were Luke Hart tied for 25th (80-75-77=232), Aengus McAllister tied for 33rd (72-82-79=233), and Jacob Tveit (77-75-82=234) and Andrew Pitcher (75-76=83=234) tied for 38th. Francis Marion's Floyd was tied for 57th after the opening round.

 

Francis Marion will compete Davidson's Birkdale Intercollegiate Tournament, March 10-11, in Huntersville, N.C.