Eagles make big move on day three, climb into sixth place

Williamson shoots team low, 1-under par

(HUNTSVILLE, Ala.) - The Meridian Community College golf team finished day three of the NJCAA Division I National Championship with the second lowest score of the day. The Eagles shot their tournament low, a 12-over par 300 at the par 72, 7, 192 -yard River Course of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail-Hampton Cove in Huntsville, AL. MCC now stands alone in sixth place, as they were the biggest movers on day three with a seven spot up from 13th.

"This was the round we had been looking for," said third year MCC head golf coach Sean Covich.

“In our first team meeting I told the guys if we just shoot 300 everyday we’ll be near the top, well it took us a few rounds but we finally shot that number.”

MCC freshman, Cory Williamson, shook off his first two round struggles and started the third round sinking a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 1st hole. He went on to make two more birdies on the day, finishing the day at 1-under 71. After three rounds, Williamson is 12-over par 228 (78-79-71).

"Everyday our low individual score has been lower and lower, Clay had 1-over on day one, Garrett Even par on day two and now Cory 1-under on day three, hope that means something even lower tomorrow,” added Covich.

MCC golfers, Clay Bounds and Garrett Westbrook, are currently tied in the top 15 individual standings at 12th place. Bounds and Westbrook both carded 4-over par rounds of 76 in the third round to finish with three-day totals of 8-over 224. Bounds shot 73-75-76 and Westbrook shot 76-72-76.

MCC sophomore, Jarrod Moulds, struggled on the first six holes shooting 5-over par on that stretch, but then managed to shoot even par the rest of his round to shoot a 5-ver par 77 on day three. After three rounds, Moulds is at 17-over par 233 (76-80-77).

The Eagles once again dropped the score from freshman Nick Hawkes who is struggling this week. Hawkes sits at 35-over par 251 (87-80-84).

McLennan (TX) Community College leads the team race with a 888 (290-294-304), while New Mexico Junior College is in second place with a 896 (295-295-306). Jason Hamilton of Lon Morris College and Tommy Sikes of Midland College are leading the medalist race with Even par after 54 holes.

MCC is seven shots out of third place and only one stroke out of the top five. The Eagles came into the national tournament ranked 12th in the NJCAA.

“At the start of the week I said that a top ten would be nice but a top five would be really special for our first season in Division I,” said Covich.

“I’m just proud of the guys this week because this course is so difficult and to have two rounds of even par or lower already says a lot about their talent, I just hope we can finish this thing off on a positive note tomorrow.”

The Eagles will be paired with former national champions, Indian Hills (IA) College and Central Alabama Community College for the final round on Friday. Action begins at 10:30 A.M.

“It’s an honor for MCC golf to be playing in the same pairings with those great programs,” said Covich.

“They have combined for nearly ten national titles and for us to be in the mix with them says a lot.”

Live scoring available on golfstat.com