CHOCTAW, Miss. -- Senior Josh Simer finished third to earn
all-tournament honors and help lead the Tennessee Tech men's golf
team to second place among 13 teams at the Frito Lay-AT&T
Invitational hosted by Jackson State University.
The Golden Eagles matched tournament champion Union University in
posting the lowest round of the day Monday with a 306. It helped
Tech jump all the way from eighth place after Sunday's play to
second.
Simer followed his opening round 71 with a 77 on Monday for a
36-hole total 148, three shots back of the top spot held by Archie
Shepherd III of Florida A&M. It was the second all-tournament
honor andhighest finish this season for Simer, who placed fourth
last fall at the Murray State Invitational.
Union's 618 won the team crown, with Tech sneaking in to second
place with a 624, one shot ahead of host Jackson State (625).
Florida A&M (627) was fourth and McNeese (628) fifth. The next
five included Mississippi College (629), Lipscomb and Lambuth
(638), UT Martin (642) and Savannah State (693).
Tech had four golfers in the Top 20, including three on the team
plus Travis Ramsey who competed as an individual.
Jake Heatherly and Blake Garrison tied for 19th place at 159.
Heatherly shot rounds of 79 and 80, while Garrison made a huge jump
Monday, improving from 85 on the first day to a team-best 74 on
Monday.
Wes Korth had the biggest jump on the team, going from a
non-counting 91 Sunday to a 75 on Monday, the second-best score on
the squad. Preston Marshall, Tech's fifth team member, shot
83-89--172 and tied for 46th place.
Ramsey actually had Tech's second-best showing in the tournament,
finishing in a tie for 13th place with scores of 80 and 76 for a
156 total, but it didn't count toward the team's total.
The Golden Eagles will play in the Grover Page Invitational, hosted by UT Martin, next Monday and Tuesday.