Rice University
Conference USA Championship
Owls Place 7th at Conference USA Championship
4/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 26, 2006
West Point, Miss. - The Rice golf team shot a 295 in the final round of 2006 Conference USA Men's Golf Championship to tie for seventh place with East Carolina with an 876 total. Owl freshman Kyle Kelley led Rice with a fifth place four-under score of 212 (69-72-71). For his effort, Kelley was selected to the all-tournament team in addition to being named to the All-Conference USA Freshman Team. Furthermore, senior Parker LaBarge was selected by the league's head coaches to the All-Conference USA Second Team.
The SMU Mustangs rallied from a four-shot deficit on the final day of the to capture the team title and an automatic NCAA Regional bid on the Par 72, 7,000-yard course at the Old Waverly Golf Club. SMU senior Will Dodson fired the low round of the tournament on Wednesday, posting a 65 (-7) to claim individual honors with the best overall score in tournament history of 203 (-13). Dodson was the only player in the field to post three rounds under par.
The Mustangs' total of 845 (278-291-276) was six shots better than runner-up UCF, who finished at 851 (288-283-280). The Golden Knights were led by Sonny Nimkhum, who posted a 70 to finish at 208 (-8) and second in the individual standings. Tulsa finished third in the team standings with a score of 853 (285-287-281).
Memphis and Houston, who shared the lead going into the final round, dropped to fourth and fifth respectively, with final-round scores of 291 and 300. The Tigers finished at 856 (276-289-291), while the Cougars registered an 865 (285-280-300). Memphis freshman Brad Benjamin took third overall with a final day tally of 69 (-3), earning All-Tournament honors with a total score of 209 (-7). SMU's Knost placed fourth with a tally of 210 (-6). The junior led the field with 15 birdies in the three-round tournament.
UAB was sixth with a score of 869,. Host Southern Miss finished in ninth at 877. Marshall was even for the round, its best effort of the tournament to finish tenth with an 887. UTEP and Tulane rounded out the team scoring with an 896 and 937, respectively.
7 Rice University 286-295-295=876
T 5 Kyle Kelley 69-72-71=212
T 27 Parker LaBarge 74-74-71=219
T 27 Addison Awe 69-76-74=219
T 50 Jeff Krakowiak 75-75-79-229
52 Heon Young Lee 74-74-83=231
Final Team Standings
1. SMU 278-291-276 = 845 (-19)
2. UCF 288-283-280 = 851 (-13)
3. Tulsa 285-287-281 = 853 (-11)
4. Memphis 276-289-291 = 856 (-8)
5. Houston 285-280-300 = 865 (+1)
6. UAB 286-291-292 = 869 (+5)
7. Rice 286-295-295 = 876 (+12)
East Carolina 296-297-283 = 876 (+12)
9. Southern Miss 292-291-294 = 877 (+13)
10. Marshall 302-297-288 = 887 (+23)
11. UTEP 291-311-294 = 896 (+32)
12. Tulane 308-315-314 = 937 (+73)
C-USA Men's Golfer of the Year
Keven Fortin-Simard, Memphis
C-USA Freshman of the Year
Nicolas Geyger, Tulsa
C-USA Coach of the Year
Tom Shaw, Tulane
All-Conference USA First Team
Pablo Acuna, Houston
Keven Fortin-Simard, Memphis
Colt Knost, SMU
Sam Korbe, Tulsa
Garrett Osborn, UAB
All-Conference USA Second Team
Parker LaBarge, Rice
Mitch Cohlmia, Tulsa
Brandon DeStefano, SMU
Justin Elliott, Southern Miss
Ricky Ramano, Houston
All-Conference USA Freshman Team
Kyle Kelley, Rice
Jason Cuthbertson, Southern Miss
Kyle Davis, UCF
Greg Forest, UCF
Nicolas Geyger, Tulsa
All-Tournament Team
Kyle Kelley, Rice
Will Dodson, SMU
Sonny Nimkhum, UCF
Brad Benjamin, Memphis
Colt Knost, SMU
Garrett Osborn, UAB
Mitch Cohlmia, Tulsa
Sam Korbe, Tulsa
Players Mentioned
