Montreat College men's golf team entered the Virginia Intermont College Fall Invitational tournament as one of the youngest teams competing and had a second day which fulfilled Head Coach David Pennell's hopes for future team and individual success.

On a weekend when Tennessee Wesleyan captured team honors, winning by two strokes over Milligan College, and Zach Lindsey of Reinhardt College was the individual winner, Montreat's young team distinguished itself as well.

Rodney Sean McKaig, a junior from Columbus, NC, played well both days, shooting a 73-77-150 to earn a top-10 finish as he tied for 7th with three other golfers.  

Then came a parade of freshmen for the Cavaliers as Branden Craven shot a 156, Preston Karup shot 159, and Jake Peterson rounded out the team score a few strokes back.  

Karup, from nearby Arden, NC, had a hot hand on the second day, shooting a tidy 74, which was tied for the third lowest round of the tournament's closing day and merely three strokes behind the low round of the weekend.

The men's team faces a lengthy winter break, but if the results from the matches at the Cattails at Meadowview course in Kingsport are any measure, Pennell can hope for a strong team as his junior leader gains experience and the freshmen corps matures into their considerable talent. 

An unseasonably mild November afternoon greeted the Montreat College golf teams as they travelled to Columbia, South Carolina on Wednesday, November 4 to face Division-II opponent Benedict College.  

And while it may have felt like spring, David Pennell's Cavalier golfers knew this was their final match before a long winter's break.  They made the most of the last chance to compete before 2010 as the men earned a 69-shot victory and the women won by 120 strokes.

For the men, junior Sean McKaig won the day, shooting a 77 on the Oak Hills Golf Club layout, narrowly edging freshmen teammates Brandon Craven and Jake Petersen, who both needed 79 shots to finish their rounds.  Preston Karup, another freshman, shot an 82 for a team score of 317.  Benedict struggled with a composite score of 386.

Ashley Mitcham and Morgan Morrow both recorded 92s for the women's team, Martha Turpin was a chip and a putt behind with a 94, and Hannah Glenn shot 97 as the women totaled 375 against Benedict, who averaged 30 strokes more per woman and posted a team score of 495.  

The resounding wins were a satisfying finale to the year, and the teams begin next season in March 2010.  Coach Pennell will begin posting his squads' schedules in January 2010 - a sure harbinger of spring.

The Cavaliers hosted the 2009 Montreat College Fall Invitational golf tournament earlier this week, where 10 colleges and universities teed off at the Glen Cannon Country Club in Brevard, NC. The Lady Cavs finished second in the tournament behind Union College. The men's team managed a ninth place finish in a field of 11 teams of intense competition.

The final results for the tournament are as follows:

Team Final Results:

 

Men:

 

   1.  Brevard College - 300-293=593

   2.  Union College - 294-303=597

   3.  Reinhardt College - 295-304=599

   4.  USC-Lancaster - 304-300=604

   5.  Bluefield State College - 305-306=611

   6.  Tri-County Technical College - 314-299=613

   7.  Virginia Intermont College - 303-312=615

   8.  Spartanburg Methodist - 317-302=619

   9.  Montreat College - 322-313=635

 10.  UVA-Wise - 334-333=667

 11.  Bluefield College - 344-332=676

 

Women:

 

   1.  Union College - 365-350=715

   2.  Montreat College - 374-365=739

   3.  Brevard College - 379-365=744

 

All Tournament Team:

 

Men:

 

   1.  Zach Lindsey, Reinhardt College - 71-71=142

 *2.  Brandon Craven, Montreat College - 73-71=144

        Josh Davis, Brevard College - 71-73=144

        Trevor Banks, USC-Lancaster - 73-71=144

   5.  Thomas Whiting, Tri-County - 75-70=145.

 

Women:

 

   1.  Lucy McNulty, Brevard College - 85-79=164

   2.  Ashley Buxton, Union College - 83-82=165

 *3.  Morgan Morrow, Montreat College - 88-87=175

        Tiffany Willis, Union College - 88-87=175

   5.  Katie Horn, Union College - 93-84=177.

   

Montreat Scores:

 

Men:

Brandon Craven, (Fr. Hendersonville, NC) - 73-72=144

Sean McKaig, (Jr. Columbus, NC) - 80-81=161

Preston Karup, (Fr. Arden, NC) - 81-81=162

Jake Petersen, (Fr. Atlanta, GA) - 88-80=168

 

Women:

Morgan Morrow, (Fr. Burnsville, NC) - 88-87=175

Ashley Mitcham, (Sr. Waynesville, NC) - 97-89=186

Linzy Cook, (Fr. Boone, NC) - 93-95=188

Hannah Glenn, (Soph. Morganton, NC) - 96-94=190

Caitlin Dempsey, (Jr. Brandford, FLA) - 100-95=195

 

Individuals; Women

Julie White, (Fr. Fletcher, NC) - 101-102=203

Martha Turpin, (Fr. Slyva, NC) - 108-109=217