Feb. 26, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Behind the play of junior Greg Forest (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) and sophomore Mike Stern (Miami, Fla./Killian), who shared medalist honors, the UCF men's golf squad claimed the team title at the UCF Rio Pinar Invitational on Tuesday. The Knights finished at 846 (-18), 12 strokes ahead of runner-up Wichita State.
The tournament victory was the first for the Knights since they won the same event in 2005.
Forest and Stern both finished at 205 (-11). On Tuesday, Stern carded a two-under 69 and Forest posted a one-under 71.
"The kids have really faced a lot of adversity lately (with some roster changes) and it was nice to see them respond," said UCF head coach Nick Clinard. "They have put the team first. This is a great win against a tremendous field. We beat some top-25 teams and I am really proud of our guys."
The two-day, three-round event featured 18 squads and was played at the Rio Pinar Country Club.
Memphis' Ian Rochester finished third in the individual standings (209, -7), four strokes behind Forest and Stern.
UCF freshman Kyle Cobb (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon) competed as an individual and finished tied for 12th at 214 (-2). He recorded an even-par 72 in the final round. Cobb was participating in his first event with the Knights.
Junior Preston Brown (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Nease) helped the Knights take the team title. He carded an even-par 72 on Tuesday to finish tied for 21st (217, +1). Fellow junior David Johnson (Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne) concluded the event tied for 34th with a 219 (+3).
Prior to the tournament, a UCF player had not claimed medalist honors at an event since Andreas Hoegberg was victories at the UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate in 2005.
Forest and Stern both took medalist honors for the first time on the collegiate level. Forest led the tournament with 16 birdies, while Stern paced the field in par-5 scoring (-8).
"Mike has improved so much in the three semesters that he has been here. He is continuing to improve as a player," said Clinard. "Greg is immensely talented. He can do (win) every time he tees it up. He is that good."
Louisville finished third in the team standings at 859 (-5), followed by Ole Miss (862, -2) and North Florida (867, +3).
The Knights will not be in action again until March 23, when they compete at the Hootie at Bulls Bay in South Carolina.
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Team Leaderboard - Final
1. UCF 287-274-285=846 (-18)
2. Wichita State 284-283-291=858 (-6)
3. Louisville 288-285-286=859 (-5)
4. Ole Miss 280-290-292=862 (-2)
5. North Florida 295-289-283=867 (+3)
Individual Leaderboard -Final
1. Greg Forest (UCF) 70-64-71=205 (-11)
Mike Stern (UCF) 72-64-69=205 (-11)
3. Ian Rochester (Memphis) 69-68-72=209 (-7)
4. Derek Fathauer (Louisville) 70-70-70=210 (-6)
Johnny Caldwell (South Alabama) 69-69-72=210 (-6)
UCF Team Scoring
1. Greg Forest (UCF) 70-64-71=205 (-11)
Mike Stern (UCF) 72-64-69=205 (-11)
T21 Preston Brown 72-73-72=217 (+1)
T34 David Johnson 73-73-73=219 (+3)
T73 Giwon Suh 74-74-79=227 (+11)
UCF Individuals
T12 Kyle Cobb 71-71-72=214 (+2)
T62 Nuno Henriques 75-75-74=224 (+8)