Men's golf wins 11th OVC Championship
Hendrickson awarded OVC Player of the Year; Stephens receives Coach of the Year
Clayton Ward
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Sports
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Eastern won its 11th OVC men's golf championship Tuesday at the Country Club of Paducah with a team total of 874-19 shots less than the runner up, Murray State.
Not only did the men win the championship, but four Eastern players were honored as part of the 12-person OVC championship All-Tournament team.
Juniors Jessie Massie and Trey Bowling, and senior Phil Hendrickson took first team honors while senior Justin Moore was chosen for OVC second team.
Hendrickson battled Murray's Nick Newcomb for first in the tournament individually but came up one shot short, falling behind in the final holes and tying for second in the tournament.
However, it was Hendrickson's team who walked away with the championship trophy, and immediately following the tournament, he was named OVC player of the year. His overall play consisted of the lowest stroke average in the conference and six top 10 finishes.
Each member of Eastern's team of five finished in the top 20 in the field of 50. Three Colonels finished in the top five.
Finally, Eastern's Head Coach Pat Stephens was honored with the OVC Coach of the Year.
The team of Massie, Hendrickson, Moore, Bowling and senior Ryan Britt jumped to a massive 17-shot lead in the first round with the top three spots secured.
Massie also put up the best round of the tournament with a 2-under-par, putting him in first individually after the first day of competition.
Bowling started out slow compared to the rest of the group ending the first round tied for 34 place, but slowly rose in the next two rounds to end in the top 20, tied for 18th.
Much like Bowling, the entire team only improved as the lead grew from 17 to 26 strokes in the second round.
Though Eastern may have slipped a bit, going from a 26-stroke lead to a nine-stroke lead in the final round of play, it all had the same outcome, with the Colonels going to the NCAA championships.
The Colonels will be back in action at the NCAA regional meet May 15.
Women
The women pulled out a come from behind third place finish in the OVC championships.
The first round put the Colonels at sixth place; freshman Charlotte Lundell came out leading the Colonels tied for 13th.
Round two showed Eastern's surge, moving from sixth to third. Eastern's team score improved by 25 strokes, with each player improving her score. Most notably, first team all-OVC selection senior Kelli Warner improved her score by 11 shots.
At the end of round two, Eastern still trailed second place 12 strokes.
Eastern's first round mishaps cut too deep, making the late rounds comeback ineffective as the Colonels fell two shots short, taking third at the OVC tourney.