Tallahassee, Fla. - Georgia State freshman Tyler Gruca shot a final round 2-under par 69 to lead the Panthers to a 10th place finish at the Seminole Intercollegiate hosted by Florida State on Sunday afternoon. Gruca and fellow freshman Ross Mclister finished among the top 30 as State shot a final round 294.
Gruca made six birdies in his final round, including three straight on his second nine for the Panthers who had teed off on the 10th hole. The walk-on's 69 tied his career low set at the Wolfpack Invitational in October. He finished at 6-over par in a tie for 29th place.
Freshman Ross Mclister, who entered play tied for fourth, stumbled to a final round 76 to finish tied for 18th at 3-over par. Mclister had opened the tournament with rounds of 71 and 69.
"Our team almost put together our most complete round of the spring today," commented head Joe Inman. "We were playing extremely well before a few mental mistakes over the last few holes. I am happy the way we started, just a little disappointed the way we finished. I hope that our results will give our guys some confidence as we move forward."
Senior Alan Fowler and redshirt-junior Jared Cagle tied for 53rd at 11-over par. Fowler shot a final round 76, but was playing well before a tough triple bogey on the par-4 8th hole (this 17th hole).
Cagle had the same unfortunate fate. The Gainesville, Ga. native was 1-under through 16 holes at Southwood Country Club, before a bogey-double bogey finish landed him a final round 73.
Senior walk-on Tommy Caswell was 2-over with just two holes remaining, before a double bogey-bogey finish gave him a final round 76. Caswell eagled the par-5 first (his 10th hole) en route to finishing 24-over for the tournament in a tie for 91st place.
No. 18 Arkansas led wire-to-wire and earned a three-stroke victory over Kennesaw State following a final round 4-under par 280, finishing at 8-under par for the tournament. The Owls shot the best round of the tournament, an 8-under 276 to finish at 5-under par. Host Florida State finished in third at 3-under par, followed by No. 35 North Texas in fourth at 2-under par. Houston rounded at the top five, finishing the 54-hole event at 13-over par.
Sebastian Cappelen of Arkansas, along with Kennesaw State's Jeff Karlsson and Florida State's Drew Kittleson tied for low medalist honors. Due to travel considerations, the tie for the top spot was not broken and the three will share the individual title. Karlsson and Kittleson each shot final round 67's, while Cappelen shot 69 as the group tied at 5-under par.
Second round lead Zach Portemont of Troy, along with Houston's Curtis Reed and Ethan Tracy of Arkansas tied for fourth at 3-under par.
The Panthers have just two more warm-ups before the CAA Championships in late April. State will return to the Administaff/Augusta State Invitational at Forest Hills Country Club on April 2-3.
