Sept. 27, 2009

SUNSET BEACH, N.C. - The Samford men's golf team carded a third-round score of 294 on Sunday to improve to 15th place in the final standings of the highly-competitive 2009 Sea Trail Intercollegiate hosted by Elon University. The Bulldogs' final-round score of 294 was their best total of the three-day tournament.

"I'm proud of how we played today," said Samford head coach Woodie Eubanks. "We have one of the youngest teams in the nation and three of our five starters are freshmen. It is fun to watch them mature and get better each week, but the upside for this squad is tremendous. Right now, we have the second-ranked freshman class in the nation and we just need to continue to get better as the season goes on."

One of Samford's highly-touted freshmen, Gabe Hyde, finished the weekend with the team's best overall score. A native of Hoover, Ala., Hyde fired a 73 on Sunday to conclude the tournament with a 54-hole mark of 222 (76-73-73).

Junior Martin Bunt and senior Jeremy Cox also carded third-round scores of 73 at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate. Bunt finished the three-day competition with a 224 (73-78-73), while Cox tallied a final score of 225 (75-77-73).

Also posting final scores of 225 this weekend were Samford's true freshmen Casey O'Toole (76-74-75=225) and Drew Aimone (72-76-77=225).

Stetson won the team championship title of the 2009 Sea Trail Intercollegiate with a final score of 841. Wofford finished second in the tournament with a team total of 846.

Wofford's Mark Joye earned the individual title with an 8-under-par 208.

The Samford University men's golf team will next be in action Oct. 19-20 as the Bulldogs head to Savannah, Ga., for the 2009 Georgia Southern Invitational being held at the Savannah Quarters Country Club.