MCC Golf Set To Compete At Mallard Pointe

SARDIS, Miss. – The Meridian Community College golf team will compete in the Northwest MS/Itawamba Invitational on Monday-Tuesday April 2-3. The two-round event will be held at the par-72, 7,004-yard Mallard Pointe Golf Course.

MCC will compete this week and the reaming regular season events with the same starting five lineup in preparation for the MACJC State/Region XXIII championship which is to be held in two weeks.

Leading the charge is sophomore Justin Eaves, who is coming off a season best 36-hole score of 140 (70-70) this past week and finished tied for first at the ECCC Golf Classic. The Louisville, Miss., native currently leads the MACJC Player of the Year race with a 73.6 stroke average in five conference tournaments this year. Overall, Eaves has scored seven tournament rounds of even-par or better, including a 3-under par 69 at the MCC/Rush Fall Invitational. Eaves signed a golf scholarship with Troy University.

Fellow sophomore Dustin Petit will join Eaves in the starting lineup. Petit had his low 36-hole score of the season this past week, shooting a 144 (73-71). Petit is also bound for NCAA golf with a commitment to University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Three freshmen will round out the MCC lineup. Joshua Ivy, Jarrod Lemaster, and Bryant Self will complete the starting five for the Eagles. Ivy and Lemaster have already claimed two medalist titles between the two while Self has been named to four All Tournament teams. Michael Burton, a former West Lauderdale golfer, will be competing for MCC as an individual.

"This is one of our final events of the regular season in which we will compete on one of the hardest courses in the state," said MCC head coach Sean Covich. "It will be a tough challenge for this young team as we continue to gain experience and hopefully confidence before the State/Region championship."

Last season at Mallard Pointe, the Eagles shot a 309 en route to a 2nd place finish. Then freshman, Petit led the team, finishing on the All Tournament team with a 74.

Following this weekend's action, the Eagles will play in the Jones Co. Invitational at Pine Belt National April 10 in Hattiesburg, Miss.