University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate
Top Ten Finishes for Goss, Merzbacher
October 13, 2013 | Men's Golf
Oct. 13, 2013
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. -- On Sunday, the Tennessee men's golf team could not keep up with its rich tradition at Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate. The three-time tournament champions finished the Blackthorn course in seventh place. The Vols shot an even par 288 to finish the weekend with a total of 290-283-288--861 (-3).
The Volunteers were carried by the stellar play of their youngsters. Sophomores Oliver Goss and Chad Merzbacher both shot under par every single round en route to Top Ten finishes.
Goss finished in the Top Ten for the second consecutive tournament. Yet the sixth place, seven-under par finish did not sit well with the All-American golfer.
"Today nothing about my game was solid," Goss said. "Everything was pretty scrappy and I just made a lot of pars. I thought 1-under par was a good score considering my ball striking."
The long-driving Australian is accustomed to low rounds. His twelve total tournament birdies would be satisfactory for most collegiate golfers, but Goss has his sights set on championships in his second season on Rocky Top.
"I'll try and take the positives out of the weekend and learn from it for the next tournament," Goss said.
Merzbacher was the definition of consistency throughout the weekend. The Dublin, Ohio native shot three consecutive rounds of 70 (-2) to finish the tournament six-under par, tying Merzbacher for eighth place.
"I thought I played solid golf," Merzbacher said. "I could've gone lower but you can say that after round or tournament. I did a good job not getting too far in front of me and not too far behind me and that was in part of staying relaxed. I did real nice job of keeping myself calm out there."
Rounding out the rest of the Volunteer scores... senior Brandon Rodgers finished tied for 26th after carding rounds of 74-70-72--216 (E), freshman Jack Smith tied for 34th after carding rounds of 73-73-72--218 (+2), freshman Juan Carlos Serrano finished 39th after posting scores of 74-72-73--219 (+3), and senior Marshall Talkington tied for 56th after totaling 73-77-75--225 (+9).
The state of Virginia had a clean sweep of the hardware on Sunday. The Virginia Cavaliers emerged victorious as the team champion after a tournament record round of 272 on Saturday. Scott Vincent of Virginia Tech won the top individual honors after battling it out down the stretch. Virginia, Virginia Tech and Kent State were all within one stroke of each other heading into the final hole.
Tennessee will be back in action on November 4 when the Vols travel to Newport, Calif., for the Gifford Intercollegiate. Last season, UT graduate Rick Lamb won the individual title at the Gifford Intercollegiate.
For a full leaderboard rundown, Click Here.
Volunteer fans can continue to keep up with the team by following @Vol_Golf on Twitter.
*Played as Individual
| TEAM SCORES (Final) | ||
| 1. | Virginia | 295-272-275--842 (-22) |
| 2. | Virginia Tech | 284-282-277--843 (-21) |
| 3. | Kent State | 285-279-280--844 (-20) |
| 4. | ETSU | 277-291-284--852 (-12) |
| 5. | Wake Forest | 290-283-283--856 (-8) |
| 6. | Memphis | 288-288-282--858 (-6) |
| 7. | Tennessee | 290-283-288--861 (-3) |
| 8. | Missouri | 295-291-280--866 (+2) |
| 9. | UNCW | 288-284-296--868 (+4) |
| T-10. | Furman | 292-292-287--871 (+7) |
| T-10. | Coastal Carolina | 285-295-291--871 (+7) |
| 12. | Army | 296-292-294--882 (+18) |
| 13. | Penn State | 305-295-311--911 (+47) |
| 14. | Villanova | 327-318-316--961 (+97) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Final) | ||
| 1. | Scott Vincent, Virginia Tech | 67-68-68--203 (-13) |
| T-2. | Denny McCarthy, Virginia | 71-64-66--205 (-11) |
| T-2. | Thomas Birdsey, Wake Forest | 67-70-68--205 (-11) |
| UT SCORES (Final) | ||
| T-6. | Oliver Goss | 70-68-71--209 (-7) |
| *T-8. | Chad Merzbacher | 70-70-70--210 (-6) |
| T-26. | Brandon Rodgers | 74-70-72--216 (E) |
| T-34. | Jack Smith | 73-73-72--218 (+2) |
| 39. | Juan Carlos Serrano | 74-72-73--219 (+3) |
| T-56. | Marshall Talkington | 73-77-75--225 (+9) |
