By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – A second stellar, individual effort from Charles Seals helped lift the Tennessee Tech men's golf team up two spots in the standing at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships Tuesday afternoon.
After finishing fifth through 18 holes on Monday, the Golden Eagles jumped into the No. 3 spot in the rankings following their second round score of 283. It represented the team's low round of the year, a full three strokes better than the team's final-round total of 286 at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate.
Headed into the final round, Tech trailed tournament leader Eastern Kentucky by just five shots, thanks in large part to the unconscious play of Seals. The true freshman followed up his record-breaking 67 on Monday – the score set the program's freshman scoring mark and represented the best single-round score by a Tech player in the OVC Tournament – by firing a 4-under 68.
Seals concluded day two of the event in first place, holding a four-stroke lead over UT Martin's Hunter Richardson with a total of 135. His back-to-back sub-70 rounds marked a first for a Tech golfer since A.J. Wilkerson posted 68s in the first two rounds of the Derek Dolenc Invitational on Sept. 28, 2015. He led the field through two days with 11 birdies and a 7-under showing in par-four scoring.
Following close behind Wilkerson shaved two strokes off his first-round total of 73 for a 1-under 71. The senior tied for 10th in the day two standings, sitting at an even-par 144. A native of Sparta, Tenn., he tied for third in the field through two rounds with eight birdies and ranked second in par-five scoring at 4-under.
Sophomore Matthew Giles put together another solid performance, carding his second straight 1-over 73 for a 146 composite score through two rounds. He ranked tied for 15th at the conclusion of the day while posting the second most pars with a total of 28.
True freshman Cameron Yeary rebounded nicely from his first-round 81, cutting 10 strokes for a 1-under 71 to rank in a tie for 38th with a 152. Fellow rookie Dabney Dickenson also improved from day one, trimming his 78 into a 3-over 75 for a 153 overall.
The Golden Eagles will conclude play at the OVC Championships Wednesday morning, starting with tee times at 10:30 a.m. CT at the RTJ Trail at The Shoals.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
