Volunteer Asst. Derek Rende, Samuel Espinosa, Garrett Engle, John Houk, Paul Conroy, Braedon Wear, Nick Etherton & Asst. Coach Nick Robinson
RESULTS | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA GOLF
SPARTANBURG, S.C.—What a week for the Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team capturing the Wofford Intercollegiate Championship in record fashion. That’s both as a team and individual as John Houk out-dueled teammate Paul Conroy for his first NCAA collegiate win after eight over the last two seasons at Tennessee Wesleyan.
“Incredibly proud of the boys this week,” assistant coach Nick Robinson shared. “Conditions were great for scoring, but from 1-5 in the lineup, we did a great job taking advantage of our opportunities. So happy for John getting his first win at this level, nobody in the country grinds harder than he does. Paul also worked his tail off after the Linger Longer, so we’re just pumped for him to see a result like this.”
Robinson led the group this week for Coach Blaine Woodruff who stayed home dealing with a personal matter.
“This week was about so much more than this result,” Robinson added. “I’m thrilled with the way our guys played their hearts out for the Woodruff family.”
The Mocs 19-under 265 today is a new school record for total by one over the 266 (-22) tallied in the 2008 Scenic City Invitational. That led the group to breaking the 54-hole total as well with 809 (-43) 10 better than that crew’s 819 (-45). The common denominator? Volunteer assistant Derek Rende ’10 played on the 2008-09 squad which still hold the records vs par and was an integral part of the group’s efforts filling in over the last two days.
The win was by 30 over runner-up South Florida. Appalachian State was third, 32 behind the champions. Houk’s win was by two over Conroy. The medalist shot 196 with Conroy close behind at 198. They’re the second and third Mocs to break 200 over 54 holes finishing just off the record of 195 (-21) carded by Oliver Simonsen
winning the 2018 Memphis Intercollegiate.
Conroy led the way on Tuesday with 8-under 63. Braedon Wear stayed nearby with 65 followed by Houk’s 67. Samuel Espinosa completed the counting total with 70, while Garrett Engle had the drop with 74. Nick Etherton shot 71 (E) playing as individual.
Wear’s strong finish gave the Mocs three in the top 5 ending up alone in fifth with 7-under 206. Espinosa tied for 19th at 212, while Engle claimed 22nd with 213. All five Mocs ended up at level par or better. Etherton shot 220.
Houk tied the school record yesterday for 18 and 36-hole scores. He ended up re-writing the Terrier Intercollegiate record book with new 18, 36 and 54 records.
This is the squad’s third win after October triumphs at N.C. State and Furman. The three wins are the most since the same total in 2008-09 winning the Scenic City Invite, Carpet Capital Collegiate & SoCon Championship. The school record for season wins is five in 2007-08. It’s the fourth time in school history with three or more wins in a season also doing it in 2006-07.
Chattanooga is right back in action this weekend at the Hoosier Invitational. The 2-day, 54-hole event is played April 8-9 at Pfau Course in Bloomington, Ind.
Wofford Intercollegiate
April 3-4 (Mon-Tue) | Spartanburg, S.C. | 54 holes (36/18)
Lineup
1) John Houk: 62-67-67=196 (-17)
2) Paul Conroy: 66-69-63=198 (-15)
5) Braedon Wear: 71-70-65=206 (-7)
T19) Samuel Espinosa: 71-71-70=212 (-1)
22) Garrett Engle: 70-69-74=213 (E)
T50) Nick Etherton (Ind.): 75-74-71=220 (+7)
Course
C.C. of Spartanburg | Par 71 | 6,712 yards
Field
(49) Chattanooga, Appalachian State, Charleston Southern, Francis Marion, Gardner-Webb, Miami (Ohio), Presbyterian, Queens, Radford, Samford, USC Aiken, USC Upstate, (84) South Florida, Western Carolina, Winthrop & Wofford
History
1996: T8, 307-301=608 | T23, B. Raines/D. Gill, 151
1997: 9, 309-293-304=906 | 19, J. van de Griff, 70-74-77=221
1998: 12, 312-302-314=928 | T17, S. Smith, 76-73-78=227
2006: 6, 303-301-306=910 | T4, J. Hodge, 73-74-72=219
Live Scoring
Golfstat
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.