By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
HOUMA, La. – For the second straight round, the University of Tennessee at Martin golf squad showed out at the Ellendale Intercollegiate as the Skyhawks equaled the lowest score in the 13-team field.
Facing up to 20 mph winds throughout the morning, UT Martin shot a 287 (-1) in Round 3. That tied North Alabama for the lowest score on the day. Overall, the Skyhawks carded an 871 (+7) for the tournament, which ranked fourth on the team leaderboard behind Southeastern Louisiana (859, -5), North Alabama (860, -4) and Incarnate Word (870, +6). UT Martin ranked second in the field in par-4 scoring (4.06, +9) and third in pars (172).
“I am super proud of our efforts today,” Skyhawk head coach Austin Swafford said. “We’ve talked a lot about the process of things and competing for the team and today that showed. I think the scores today reflect the conditions and for us to post an under-par round, I could not be more pleased.”
Bryson Morrell produced the second top-10 tournament finish of his junior season today, placing seventh in the field of 80 with a score of 216 (E). The Knoxville, Tenn. native improved his score in each round (75-71-70), ranking fifth in the tournament with 11 birdies and sixth in par-5 scoring (4.58, -5).
Morrell’s 70 today included four birdies and 13 pars. Jacob Uehlein (71 with a team-best five birdies) and Tate Chumley (72 with three birdies) each produced their best score of the tournament today while Jonathan Xoinis’ 74 (one birdie) closed out UT Martin’s team scoring. Garrett Chumley was the fifth member of the Skyhawk lineup as he notched a 78 this morning.
Cayden Chambers completed his impressive tournament with a 72 – his lowest tally of the event. The freshman out of Waverly, Tenn. tied for the best finish of his collegiate career with a 16th-place effort as his 219 (+3) ranked second amongst the 15 golfers competing as an individual. He ranked third in the entire field in both par-3 scoring (2.92, -1) and pars (40).
The four remaining UT Martin participants were all within three shots of each other. Xoinis placed 24th with an overall score of 221 (+5) while Tate Chumley (222, +6) finished 26th overall and fifth in the field in par-4 scoring (3.97, -1). Uehlein equaled Morrell for the team lead with 11 birdies and placed 31st with a 223 (+7) – the same exact score and finish as Garrett Chumley.
The Skyhawks host their second tournament of the 2021-22 season next week when they head to Tunica, Miss. for the Carpenter/Chaney Classic on April 4-5. Eight of the nine Ohio Valley Conference teams will take part in the inaugural event, which will feature a match-play format.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information