10.26.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University men's golf competed at the 54-hole OBX Collegiate Invitational October 23-25 hosted by Old Dominion University at the Kilmarlic Golf Club in Powells Point, North Carolina.  The Lancers, coached by 15th-year head coach Kevin Fillman, finished in a tie for 11th among 18 teams with their score of 298-299-296--893. Longwood completed its fall portion of the 2011-12 schedule at the three-day event near the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  This is the last weekly golf update this fall; updates will resume in late February 2012 as the Lancers prepare for the College of Charleston Shootout Feb. 27-28, 2012.

A Quick Look Back At The OBX Collegiate
Senior Ross Sumner|Callao (Northumberland) once again led Longwood with his two-over-par total of 218 that tied for 20th individually in the field of 90.  He was followed by sophomore Dylan Jensen|Martinsville (Carlisle) (224, t-44th), seniors Kenny Leech|Boca Raton (Grandview Prep) (225, t-48th) and Austin Gray|Midlothian (Monacan) (227, t-55th), along with freshman Blake Carter|Bassett (Bassett) (238, 80th).  Sumner tied for third in birdies (14), tied for sixth in eagles (1), and tied for 12th in par 4 scoring (4.04, +1).  Jensen tied for fourth in par 4 scoring (3.96, -1), and tied for sixth in eagles (1).  Leech tied for 11th in par 3 scoring (3.00, E).  Gray tied for 15th in par 5 scoring (4.73, -4), and tied for 19th in birdies (11).

Head Coach Kevin Fillman
“I think it goes without saying that we're disappointed with our play at ODU.  We're better than that.  I've said for a few weeks, even back when things were going pretty well for us, that we had plenty of things we needed to work on if we were going to play on the level we want to play on.  We got away with things for a while, but our deficiencies finally caught up to us the past couple weeks.  Two things that we work on a lot really held us back this week.  First, we missed a lot of putts that high-caliber players have to make.  Secondly, in part because of our inability to make putts, our up-and-down percentage was well under where we need it to be.  Executing those areas better instantly saves shots.  We also made a lot of big numbers at both Seton Hall and ODU, which we didn't do a lot of earlier in the year.  I bet we had 25 holes of double bogey or worse this week.  Those aren't all from poor execution.  There's a number of poor decisions in those too.  We need to fix both causes.

“The good news is that we get to take a much-needed break now.  Most of our guys have been working everyday for the past nine months.  It wears you out, especially mentally and emotionally.  We're going to take some time in November to continue working on minor changes with some guys, but, mostly, we're going to rest before jumping back into it around February 1.”

In The Rankings
Longwood is ranked 186th among 272 Division I men's golf teams in this week's Golfstat Rankings.  The Lancers' ranking is based upon their 41.192 winning percentage through four tournaments. The University of Texas is the top-ranked program this week with its 96.632%.  Longwood is ranked 166th in this week's Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings with a rating of 74.26.  Texas is top-ranked in this poll as well with its rating of 69.21.

It's My Time
Fourth-year team member Ross Sumner has quietly compiled an outstanding start to his senior year, earning four top-10 finishes among five top-20 efforts in five tournaments this fall.  He posted 144 while tying for medalist honors at the Barnabas Health Intercollegiate (10.15-16), following a third-place effort (219) at the Joe Agee Invitational (10.3-4). Sumner twice tied for eighth this fall in addition to his most recent finish.  The win was the second of his collegiate career as he posted 214 to win the Manor Intercollegiate (9.13-14.2010) to open last year.

Back-to-Back Titles
Austin Gray, another four-year team member, enjoyed some excellent play this fall as well.  He averaged 70.83 en route to winning back-to-back tournament titles at the Bucknell Invitational (208, 9.16-17) and the Joe Agee Invitational (217, 10.3-4), respectively.  His respective rounds were 68, 71, 69, 71, 71, and 75 during his consecutive medalist honors at the pair of events.  The two individual wins were the first two of Gray's collegiate career.

Fall Scoring Averages | Season Statistics
Through the five fall tournaments and 14 rounds of golf, Ross Sumner (1010) averaged a career-best 72.14 with a low round of 69 (2x).  Austin Gray (1029) averaged a career-best 73.50 with a low round of 68. They were followed by freshman Jason Schumacher|Glen Allen (Deep Run) (3, 225-75.00, 70), Kenny Leech (1053-75.21, team low round 67), Dylan Jensen (12, 911-75.92, 71), Blake Carter (11, 836-76.00, 70), and sophomore Kyle Bodin|Austin, Texas (McNeil) (2, 158-79.00, 76).  Jensen's 75.92 is a career-best too.  The Lancers averaged 293.29 as a team, ahead of the school-record scoring average of 295.10 established during 2008-09.  Longwood won two tournaments, including the Bucknell Invitational and the Joe Agee Invitational, among its three top-five finishes in five events.

In The Record Book
Austin Gray tied the school record for 54-holes (208) while winning the Bucknell Invitational (9.16-17), also tying for the fifth-best 36-hole score (68-71--139). His two-under-par 208 matched that of Chris Shuford posted in 2004, though Shuford's total was at eight-under, while the one-under 139 was most recently posted by Scooter Buhrman in 2009 (-5). Kenny Leech tied the sixth-best round in school history with his second-day, three-under-par 67 at Bucknell, equaling that posted most recently by both Buhrman (-5) and Adam Webb (-3) in 2008.

Up Next
The off-season awaits as Longwood will not play again until the College of Charleston Shootout Feb. 27-28, 2012.