April 30, 2003

Lions collect 2003 MIAA Golf Tournament championship
Southern finishes second in final regular season standings; Long, Carpenter are All-MIAA

The Missouri Southern men's golf team rode its solid start on Monday to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Tournament championship. The Lions shot a 54-hole total of 902 to win the tournament by 14 strokes.

Southern jumped out to a quick lead after Monday's round of the tournament, played on the par-72, 6,895-yard Alvamar Golf Club in Lawrence, Kan. On Monday, the Lions carded a 444 over the first 27 holes and led by eight strokes over second-place Truman State. Southern shot a 458 over Tuesday's final 27 holes.

While the Lions won the MIAA Tournament, they fell just short of capturing the MIAA regular season title. Washburn accumulated a total of 41.5 points over the course of the five regular-season MIAA-sanctioned events. The Ichabods shot a 916 team total in the conference tourney and tied for second with Central Missouri State. The tournament win gave Southern 16 points toward the regular season title, but with Washburn and CMSU each netting 13, the Ichabods got just enough to hold off the Lions. Washburn finished the regular season with a slim one-point win over Missouri Southern.

In addition to the Lions' conference tourney crown, Southern also captured the top individual accolades. Senior Kyle Long (Joplin, Mo.) carded an even-par 108 (36-72) on Tuesday to grab medalist honors after shooting a 111 (73-38) on Monday. Long won by two strokes over a three-way tie for second that included another Lions senior, Mickey Carpenter (Neodesha, Kan.) Carpenter was the first-day leader with a one-under-par 107 (72-35). He finished with a 221 total for the tournament after Tuesday's 114 (37-77).

Long and Carpenter were also named to the All-MIAA team announced today by the MIAA. The all-conference team is selected based on a points system determined by the players' finish at the five MIAA events for the year (two in the fall and three in the spring). Long and Carpenter were each all-conference picks in 2002 as well.

Also for the Lions on Tuesday, Andrew Koehler finished in ninth place overall with a 229 (76-35-39-79). Sophomore Danny Sinksen tied for 21st with a 236 (75-40-42-79) and freshman Nick Marks added a 249 (87-41-45-76).

From here, the Lions will head to the Great Lakes/Central Super Regional to be played at Silo Ridge Golf Course in Bolivar, Mo. on May 5-7. The top Central Region team and the top Great Lakes Region team will advance to the national championships to be held May 20-23 in Sunriver, Ore. Additionally, the top individual player from each region will also make the national trip.

Excluding Missouri-Rolla, each MIAA school sponsoring men's golf will compete in the super regional.