ATLANTA -Georgia State senior Clemens Dvorak shot a final round 69 as the Panthers finished ninth at the Furman Intercollegiate on Sunday afternoon. Dvorak's final round came just a day after tying a season-low on Saturday and moved him into a tie for 11th place at 3-under par.
A first-year transfer to Georgia State, Sunday's performance gave Dvorak his fourth top-15 performance of the year and lowered his team-best scoring average to 73.75.
A day after shooting their best round in a little more than two years, the Panthers shot a final round 299 while paired with tournament champion Clemson and second place finisher Virginia Tech. State finished ahead of more than half of the large 21-team field at 11-over.
"Our team learned what it takes to play with two of the top programs in the country today," commented head coach Joe Inman after the round. "We obviously did not play as well as we hoped, but I like the fight our team showed. We need to take the lessons from this weekend and use them moving forward.
"Clemens played great golf today. He is quietly having a very good season and playing very well for us right now."
Freshman Damon Stephenson shot a final round 75 to finish tied for 29th at 2-over. Stephenson made a pair of birdies a day after shooting a career-low 2-under 70.
Freshman Davin White stumbled through a four-hole stretch to shoot a final round 78. A day after shooting a career low 69, White made a pair of birdies but back-to-back double bogeys dropped him into a tie for 44th at 4-over.
Sophomore Tyler Gruca shot a final round 80 to finish the tournament at 11-over and in a tie for 76th.
Sophomore Grant Cagle rounded out the line-up with a final round 77 to finish 13-over.
The 21-team field included 126 golfers playing 54-holes over three days in a similar format to the NCAA Regionals.
Playing as one of three Panther individuals, sophomore Ross Mclister shot his second straight 73 to finish at 9-over, tied for 67th. His back nine included a pair of birdies for a 2-under, 34. Redshirt-senior Jared Cagle finished the tournament with a final round 80 to tie for 93rd at 13-over. Sophomore Victor Lavin shot his third straight round of 78 to finish at 18-over and alone in 113th place.
Clemson claimed its third consecutive Furman Intercollegiate title with a 54-hole tournament record 26-under, 838. The Tigers' final round 272 matched their own Furman Intercollegiate record, set in last year's final round. It gave the Tigers a 15-stroke victory over ACC-rival Virginia Tech, as the Hokies finished 11-under. Wofford and Coastal Carolina finished tied for third at 4-under. Georgia, Troy and Charleston Southern tied for fifth at 3-over, with Samford just one stroke back in eighth at 4-over.
Coastal Carolina's Sebastian Soderberg shot his third consecutive round of 68 to win the tournament by two strokes over Michigan's Matt Thompson. Soderberg finished at 12-under for the come-from-behind victory over Thompson. Clemson's Corbin Mills shot a final round 65 to finish at 8-under alone in third, followed by teammates Thomas Bradshaw and Crawford Reeves who tied for fourth at 7-under.
Georgia State will return to the course for the third time this month and final time before the CAA Championships March 31-April at the Insperity/Augusta State Invitational in Augusta, Ga.
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