MOBILE, Ala. - On a difficult scoring day, Middle Tennessee shot a final round 298 to finish fifth at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate with a 54-hole score of 885. The first tournament of the spring season was played on the par 72 Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course (7,212 yards).
The tournament was won by Ole Miss with an 877 followed by Illinois State, Louisville, Vanderbilt, and Middle Tennessee.
"It was a good start to the spring season," said Head Coach Whit Turnbow. "We were not very sharp but that is to be expected this time of year. We have a week to work and do some qualifying, then we will be ready to go to South Florida."
A highlight for the Blue Raiders was the play of senior Kent Bulle who earned medalist honors for the fourth time in his career. Bulle carded a three-round score of 213 to share medalist honors with South Alabama's Jack Hiluta.
Bulle owned the par 5s this week with seven birdies but it was the par 5 sixth hole that allowed Hiluta to join him at the top of the leaderboard. Bulle double bogeyed the hole but wound up the tournament with 14 birdies.
Fellow senior Craig Smith tied for 18th overall with a 221 total, while Brad Simons tied for 35th with a 225.
Hunter Green had his best round of the tournament on Tuesday with a 74 to move up to 41st with a 226.
Dane Voss, playing in his first collegiate tournament, tied for 89th with a 235.
"Kent Bulle was good all week and Craig Smith was very solid which is what I expect from seniors," added Turnbow. "Also, I am very proud of Dane Voss because he played his heart out for us."
The Blue Raiders will step back into action on March 5 at the USF Invitational.
TEAM SCORES
1 Mississippi, U. of +13 F +13 291 285 301 877
2 Illinois State U. +14 F +4 293 293 292 878
3 Louisville, U. of +15 F +6 299 286 294 879
4 Vanderbilt +18 F +9 290 295 297 882
5 Middle Tennessee +21 F +10 293 294 298 885
T6 South Alabama, U. of +22 F +10 295 293 298 886
T6 Mississippi St. U. +22 F +8 297 293 296 886
8 Memphis, U. of +23 F +17 291 291 305 887
9 Iowa State Univ. +24 F +15 296 289 303 888
10 Arkansas State U. +32 F +7 305 296 295 896
11 Kentucky, U. of +37 F +9 307 297 297 901
12 Akron, U. of +43 F +21 309 289 309 907
T13 Jacksonville Univ. +44 F +14 310 296 302 908
T13 Kennesaw St. Univ. +44 F +17 300 303 305 908
15 Toledo +46 F +20 304 298 308 910
16 Southern Mississippi +48 F +17 306 301 305 912
17 So. Florida, U. of +56 F +24 305 303 312 920
18 Belmont University +58 F +25 310 299 313 922
MT SCORES
T1 Kent Bulle -3 F 67 72 74 213
T18 Craig Smith +5 F 73 74 74 221
T35 Brad Simons +9 F 76 73 76 225
T41 Hunter Green +10 F 77 75 74 226
T89 Dane Voss +19 F 83 75 77 235
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