WILLIAMSBURG, VA – In just its first year as a full-fledged NCAA Division I program, the Francis Marion University golf team captured its first team win at that level by finishing seven strokes ahead of a 19-team field at the First Market Bank Intercollegiate Tournament, hosted by the College of William & Mary.

The 36-hole event was played on Kingsmill’s famed River Course, a par 71, 6,809-yard layout.

The Patriots, who led by four strokes after the opening 18 holes, carded a field-low 283 team score on the final day to lengthen their margin to seven strokes over second-place University of Detroit Mercy (569 to 576).

Gardner-Webb University (585) was third, followed by Florida Gulf Coast University (586), James Madison University (586), University of Richmond (589), Liberty University (590), St. Bonaventure University (593), Bucknell University (594), Georgetown University (596), St. Joseph's University (602), Towson University (603), William & Mary (604), Temple University (610), Army (611), George Mason University (613), University of Delaware (619), Bradley University (622), and Villanova University (639).

Detroit Marcy’s Mark Sommerfield sank a birdie on the first playoff hole to claim the individual medal, besting FMU sophomore Christopher Couch.   Couch, a native of Summerville and a product of Stratford High School, shot a final-round, 4-under-par 67 to force the playoff.  He ended the 36-hole tournament with a 137 score.

Patriot junior Ronan O’Connor tied for fifth place at 69-74=143, while other FMU golfers included junior Peter McGibney (74-70=144) tied for ninth, junior Andrew Pitcher (73-74=147) tied for 22nd place, and junior Keith Crowley (78-72=150) tied for 41st position.

Francis Marion led several statistical categories while winning the tournament, including lowest par-3 scoring (2.97), lowest par-4 scoring (4.17), and most birdies (33).  Individually, Couch led the field with nine birdies for the two-day event, while O’Connor led in par-3 scoring at 2.63.

Including its two-year transitional period, this is Francis Marion’s best team finish as a Division I member since placing second at the 2005 Raines Development Group Intercollegiate.   The win is FMU’s first since the 2004 Peach Belt Conference Tournament, and the first regular-season team title since the 2003 AFLAC/Cougar Invitational in Columbus, Ga.

Ironically, Francis Marion won the William & Mary Spring Invitational in 1998 as a Division II member.

The Patriots, under the direction of head coach Mark Gaynor, now own a 63-42 record for 2007-08 and will return to action on Mar. 28-30 when they compete in the 39th-annual Furman University Intercollegiate Tournament.