Tallahassee, Fla. -Georgia State saved its best round for Sunday, shooting a 7-over 291 to finish 12th at the Seminole Intercollegiate at Southwood Country Club. Sophomore Tyler Gruca shot a 1-under 70, the Panthers low round of the tournament, to pace the Panthers.
Gruca, the top ranked golfer in the Colonial Athletic Association, jumped into a tie for 48th. He opened the final round with an eagle on his first hole and made a pair of birdies on his second nine.
The Panthers final round was their lowest of nine rounds this spring, but also continued a trend of the 54-hole event. Georgia State shot 9-over on the back nine, but 2-under on the front nine. For the tournament, GSU finished the front nine at 1-under par, but struggled on the back nine, shooting 29-over.
"I was glad that we played our best round of the tournament today," commented head coach Joe Inman. "However, I am disappointed that we left too many shots on the course. I thought we had an opportunity to play a very special round again, but we just did not get off to a great start and had to play catch-up.
"Thankfully I think we learned some things this weekend that I feel as though we can use to our benefit next weekend. We will be ready to get back out onto the course next week."
Senior Clemens Dvorak shot a final round 1-over 72 to finish tied for 36th as the Panthers top golfer. Dvorak made four birdies during his final round after an even par 71 on Saturday. Other than a three-hole stretch on Friday, the senior was 1-under for the remaining 51 holes of the tournament.
Freshman Damon Stephenson and sophomore Grant Cagle finished tied for 58th. Cagle shot a final round 74 and finished 10-over for the tournament. His third round included a 1-under 35 on the front nine. Stephenson shot a final round 77.
After struggling on his opening nine, freshman Davin White rebounded nicely to shoot a final round 75 and finish tied for 63rd. White recorded a pair of double bogeys over his first nine holes, but made two birdies on the back nine to shoot a 1-under 35 on his second nine, finishing the tournament at 11-over.
No. 20 Florida State got a birdie from Wesley Graham on the final hole to earn a one-stroke come-from-behind victory over No. 8 Georgia Tech. The Seminoles finished at 23-under, firing a tournament best 272 in the final round. No. 48 Kennesaw State finished in third at 10-under, followed by Mercer in fourth at 5-under par. North Carolina rounded out the top five, shooting 5-over par for the event.
Florida State's Brooks Koepka shot a final round 66 to earn a one-stroke victory over teammate Chase Seiffert. Koepka finished at 9-under par to overcome Seiffert who was the second round leader. South Florida's Trey Valentine and Georgia Tech's James White finished tied for third at 7-under, while Kennesaw State's Matt Nagy shot a final round 63 to finish at 6-under and in fifth place.
The Panthers will return to the course next weekend for the Furman Intercollegiate in Greenville, S.C. beginning on Friday.
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