FLORIDA SOUTHERN QUALIFIES FOR NATIONALS; MOCS FINISH THIRD,
EUSTAQUIO SECOND AT SOUTH REGION TOURNAMENT

AUSTIN, TX - Florida Southern returned to its first-round form and Jude Eustaquio turned in another strong performance. Now both will be going to the NCAA National Championships.

In Wednesday's final round of the Division II South Region Tournament, the Moccasins equaled their first round score from Monday with a five-under par 279. Needing a strong finish to strengthen its chance to advance, the Mocs got under-par rounds from Eustaquio, Matt Stauch and Blake Holbrook, as well as a 73 from Danny Evelyn. That allowed them to leap North Alabama and finish in third place, high enough to qualify for their 32nd trip to the National Tournament.

Top-ranked West Florida won the South Region title by edging Nova Southeastern by two strokes. Florida Southern finished 15 strokes out of first, though the Mocs matched the Argonauts in one round and bettered them in another.

The regional champion earns an automatic bid to the national tournament, with three other teams from the combined South and South Central Regionals also making it. That meant Florida Southern was competing not only against the seven other South Region teams, but schools from the South Central Region that were playing on the same course. Another round like the Mocs had on Tuesday (a 298) would have put them in jeopardy.

The Mocs eased some fears early when Holbrook, their lead golfer of the day, made the turn at one-under par after picking up birdies on five, six and nine. Stauch then made the turn at even par, followed by Richey at one-under. The first three North Alabama golfers, with whom the Mocs were playing, played the front nine at two-over.

Over the back nine, Stauch turned it up another notch for Florida Southern with a birdie on four of his first six holes, helping him finish the day with a team-best four-under par 67. That helped him jump from 34th in the individual standings to 15th.

Meanwhile, Eustaquio was in a battle for medalist honors after starting the day tied with West Florida's Kyle Scott for the individual lead. With Scott teeing off 45 minutes later, Eustaquio was in the clubhouse early and held a one-stroke lead at the end of his round. However, Scott made up the difference and secured medalist honors with a birdie on #18 that gave him a two-stroke victory. Scott finished the day with a 67, while Eustaquio shot a 69.

Scott's nine-under par 204 was a South Region Tournament record, breaking a mark that had been shared by three others at eight-under par. One of those previous record holders was Florida Southern's Jeff Klauk, who shot eight-under in both 1998 and 2000. Along with teammate Tobias Rosendahl, Scott helped West Florida set a team scoring record too, as the Argonauts finished the three-round event at 11-under. The previous team record was seven-under, set by Florida Southern in 2006.

Along with South Central champion St. Edward's (TX), West Florida, Nova Southeastern, Florida Southern and North Alabama all advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. That tournament gets underway on Wednesday, May 14 in Houston.

TEAM STANDINGS          Rd. 1 Rd. 2 Rd. 3    Total   
 1. West Florida         279 - 279 - 283    841  -11
 2. Nova Southeastern    284 - 280 - 279    843  -9
 3. Florida Southern     279 - 298 - 279    856  +4
 4. North Alabama        289 - 286 - 283    858  +6
 5. Barry                294 - 292 - 283    869  +17
 6. Lynn                 294 - 294 - 287    874  +22
 7. Florida Tech         300 - 286 - 293    879  +27
 8. Valdosta State       297 - 290 - 298    885  +33
 

Top 10 Golfers
 1. Kyle Scott          W. Florida    67-70-67  204  -9
 2. Jude Eustaquio      FSC           64-73-69  206  -7
 3. Constantin Schwierz Nova SE       72-67-69  208  -5
 4. Tobias Rosendahl    W. Florida    67-74-69  210  -3
t5. Byron White         Nova SE       69-71-71  211  -2
    Wes Smith           N. Alabama    74-68-69  211  -2
 7. Diego Lobo          Nova SE       72-72-69  213   E
 8. Daniel Creel        N. Alabama    69-76-69  214  +1
t9. Matthew Galloway    W. Florida    72-70-73  215  +2
    *Jack Bartlett      Henderson St. 72-73-70  215  +2
    *Brandon Bennett    W. Georgia    71-75-69  215  +2
     Victor Billskoog   Barry         70-76-69  215  +2

Florida Southern Golfers
  2. Jude Eustaquio    64-73-69  206  -7
t15. Matt Stauch       75-75-67  217  +4
t23. Danny Evelyn      71-74-73  218  +5
t30. Brian Richey      69-76-75  220  +7
 44. Blake Holbrook    86-77-70  233  +20

*individual qualifier