Two plaques were tucked away inside the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga van Tuesday during the Mocs’ return from the Southern Conference men’s golf tournament in Pinehurst, N.C.
But the big trophy for 2015 went to Johnson City with the East Tennessee State contingent.
“Overall, the young guys matured a lot and understand what it takes to get it done,” UTC coach Mark Guhne said. “I think we played solid, and I’d probably give us a B-minus.
“We made a lot of birdies, but when we had a bad hole it wasn’t just a bogey, it was a double or triple.”
UTC finished third in the race for the team title and an automatic berth in an NCAA regional tournament.
ETSU, in its return to the SoCon, topped UNC Greensboro in a sudden-death playoff after both teams tied at 2 under par after 54 holes. UTC finished at 8-over 876, which beat fourth-place Wofford by nine.
J.T. Poston of Western Carolina repeated as medalist in a playoff over UNCG golfer Adrian Meronik, after they both shot 9 under at Pinehurst No. 9.
UTC coach Mark Guhne“The conference has gotten really good,” Guhne said. “ETSU of course, has a really good team, and UNCG had a day that we needed to have.
“We need to take a step forward this summer.”
UTC sophomore Wes Gosselin led the Mocs and tied for fifth individually at 1 under, while senior Liam Johnston tied for 12th at 2 over and sophomore Ewan Scott placed 14th at 3 over.
UTC’s plaques were delivered to individuals. Andrew Weathers, who redshirted last year, was named SoCon freshman of the year, and Johnston earned a spot on the 10-man all-conference team for the second consecutive season.
Weathers, who prepped at McCallie, is the third UTC golfer to be men’s freshman of the year. The others were Derek Rende — who helped lead UTC to a No. 1 ranking in the country at one time — and Stephan Jaeger, who is on the Web.com Tour.
“I told Andrew that guys who win that trophy become All-Americans,” Guhne joked. “So I told him he’d better get to practicing.
“He had some great tournaments including a good start at the Carpet Capital, and he had a couple of top-fives.”
Johnston, who grew up in Scotland, finished inside the top 10 five times this season.
His college career is over. And UTC’s season has ended.
“I have two online classes to do from home,” Johnston said. “I’m going to stay amateur at least next summer and maybe next year and then turn professional.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.