University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Quail Valley Intercollegiate
Smith Victorious, Vols Finish 2nd
October 28, 2014 | Men's Golf
Tournament Stats
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Tennessee men's golf team wrapped up its fall season with a second place finish. The Vols posted their lowest round of the fall, and Knoxville native Jack Smith took the individual title at the Quail Valley Intercollegiate in Vero Beach, Fla.
Sophomore Jack Smith captured the first individual title of his collegiate career by carding a 54-hole total of 205 (-11). Smith's championship performance was highlighted a career-low, 63 (-9) in the first round, which also tied the Quail Valley Golf Club course record. He shot another round in the 60s on Tuesday (67).
"We're all very proud of Jack for capturing his first collegiate win," Tennessee head coach Jim Kelson said. "He's done an excellent job in developing, but most importantly he's paid the price for success."
"It feels really good. It's sort of the first tournament I felt like I was in a position where I could go win," said Smith. "That alone felt good. To pull it off felt even better."
As a team, the Vols posted a 10-under 278 in the final round. Their lowest round of the fall helped the team to a second place finish at 18-under par (279-289-278--846). Two members, Smith and junior Michael Nagy, posted their best 54-hole scores of the fall.
"We're glad with how we ended the fall. We would've liked to win the tournament, but it's good to have some momentum going into the spring," added Smith. "A couple of months off and a lot of work to put in, but we have some good feelings for the spring."
Junior Chad Merzbacher posted his third consecutive top 15 finish for the Vols. Merzbacher finished tied for 12th at the Quail Valley Intercollegiate after carding a 212 (-4).
Freshman Lorenzo Scalise made a big jump on Tuesday to earn his first collegiate top 20 finish. The Italy native shot a final round 68 (-4) to end in a tie for 20th place at 1-under par.
Nagy finished tied for 36th after a 54-hole total of 219 (+3), while sophomore Juan Carlos Serrano Guevara finished tied for 46th with a 221 (+5).
The North Florida men's golf team held off the Vols to capture the Quail Valley Intercollegiate championship with a score of 840 (-24).
Tennessee returns to action in February when they travel to Ponte Vedra, Fla., for the Sea Best Invitational.
Volunteer fans can continue to keep up with the team by following @Vol_Golf on Twitter.
| TEAM SCORES | ||
| 1. | North Florida | 278-286-276--840 (-24) |
| 2. | Tennessee | 279-289-278--846 (-18) |
| 3. | Michigan State | 286-284-283--853 (-11) |
| 4. | Stephen F. Austin | 281-291-282--854 (-10) |
| 5. | McNeese State | 280-286-291--857 (-7) |
| 6. | Kentucky | 282-288-288--858 (-6) |
| T-7. | TCU | 290-277-292--859 (-5) |
| T-7. | Jacksonville | 281-286-292--859 (-5) |
| T-9. | Arizona | 293-291-283--869 (+5) |
| T-9. | Louisiana-Monroe | 295-291-285--869 (+5) |
| 11. | Bowling Green | 290-289-294--873 (+9) |
| 12. | Connecticut | 281-298-295--874 (+10) |
| 13. | Rice | 292-290-293--875 (+11) |
| 14. | Houston Baptist | 299-289-291--879 (+15) |
| 15. | North Dakota State | 303-296-293--892 (+28) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | ||
| T-1. | Tyler McDaniel, UK | 67-70-68--205 (-11) |
| T-1. | Jack Smith, UT | 68-69-67--205 (-11) |
| 3. | Andreas Krokeide, MSU | 67-71-68--206 (-10) |
| UT SCORES | ||
| T-1. | Jack Smith | 63-75-67--205 (-11) |
| T-12. | Chad Merzbacher | 73-67-72--212 (-4) |
| T-20. | Lorenzo Scalise | 73-74-68--215 (-1) |
| T-36. | Michael Nagy | 75-73-71--219 (+3) |
| T-46. | Juan Carlos Serrano Guevara | 70-77-74--221 (+5) |
