University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols to Compete in North Carolina State Intercollegiate
April 10, 2003 | Men's Golf
April 10, 2003
The Tennessee men's golf team travels to Raleigh, N.C. to compete in the North Carolina State Intercollegiate. The tournament will be played at the Raleigh Country Club, April 12-13. This marks the first time the 25th-ranked Vols have competed in the event.
Head coach Jim Kelson feels good about where his team stands and looks forward to competing this weekend.
"This is the best our team has looked this year, both mentally and physically," Kelson said. "We are pleased with the overall progress our team has made over the past three weeks. We look forward to seeing what this team can do when it puts its best effort forward."
Sophomore standout David Skinns will lead the Tennessee attack. Skinns leads the team in stroke average with a 71.81, which ranks him second in the SEC and 38th in the nation by Golfweek. He also leads the team in rounds of par or better with 14 and five top 10 finishes. Skinns has finished tied for second twice this season at the Coca-Cola Tournament of Champions and the Seminole Intercollegiate.
Senior Ian Parnaby will compete in the two position. Parnaby has a stroke average of 72.55. He is second to Skinns in rounds of par or better with 13 and has two top 10 finishes. He is ranked seventh in the SEC in stroke average. Parnaby recorded his first individual title as a Vol at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, shooting a 68-72-75--215.
Other Vols competing include sophomores Ross McGowan and John-Scott Rattan at three and four respectively and senior Andrew Pratt at the five position. McGowan has a stroke average of 74.38 and one top 10 finish at the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate (seventh-t). Rattan has an average of 74.57 and two top 10 finishes at the Coca-Cola Tournament of Champions (fifth-t) and the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate (10th-t). Pratt has a stroke average of 76.22 and a top 10 finish at the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate, tying for 10th.
The tournament field includes six teams ranked in the Golfweek Top 25. Those teams include No. 3 Wake Forest, No, 11 North Carolina, No. 14 and defending national champion Minnesota, No. 16 North Carolina State, No. 23 Duke and No. 25 Tennessee. Other teams competing are East Tennessee State, Georgia Southern, Kansas, North Florida, Southern Methodist, Tulsa, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia Tech.
"This is a very good tournament with a lot of ACC schools," Kelson said. "This is a new course for us and we have heard it is a good one. Course management will be important this weekend and I think it will be much better. The attitude on this team is also much better and I hope this will help us gain momentum heading into the post season."
The tournament format includes two rounds on Saturday with the final round being played on Sunday.
