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Miami Golf Finishes 7th in Georgia

By Justin Maskulinski, Senior Staff Writer

The Miami University golf team completed its second-to-last fall tournament Tuesday, placing seventh out of 11 teams in the Pinetree Intercollegiate.

The tournament, which took place in Kennesaw, Georgia, was won by host Kennesaw State University. Kennesaw shot 19 under par as a team for the tournament.

"Every time you get a chance to play against one of the best teams in the country, you're going to do it," head coach Zac Zedrick said. "It only makes us better."

The RedHawks finished the tournament 36 over par and were nine shots out of fourth place. The 'Hawks shot rounds of 297, 303 and 300. Although the numbers are relatively consistent, Zedrick saw missed opportunities for the Red and White.

"We gave a lot of shots away," Zedrick said. "The scores were consistent, but they were consistently below our standard of performance right now."

The 'Hawks were led by two top 10 finishers in senior Scott Cahill and freshman Patrick Flavin. Cahill placed sixth overall, shooting even par. Cahill shot rounds of 74, 69 and 73 on the par-72 course en route to his second top 10 finish of the fall.

"It was nice to have a few days and kind of relax," Cahill said, referring to the team's two week break from competition leading up to the tournament. "It was good to have some time to work on some things. We knew we only had two events left, and now we've got one left. We're just trying to finish this fall on a good note."

Flavin shot rounds of 69, 77 and 72 as he finished the tournament tied for ninth. Flavin has now placed in the top 20 in three of the four college tournaments he has played in. He finished the tournament two over par.

"I finished really well and so far the season has gone really well," Flavin said.

Before the 'Hawks embarked on their two week hiatus from competition, Flavin said he wanted to improve the mental side of his game. After his first collegiate top 10 finish, Flavin thinks he took a step in the right direction.

"I definitely responded better when I had a bad hole or a bad shot," Flavin said. "I think I'm getting a lot better [mentally], definitely well-improved there."

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Junior Jack Sparling and seniors Luke Shaughnessy and Brantley Kushner rounded out the 'Hawks lineup as they tied for 32nd, 51st and 59th, respectively.

Redshirt sophomore Satoshi Tanaka, a transfer from Purdue University, played the tournament as an individual. Tanaka shot rounds of 84, 79 and 77 and tied for 55th.

The 'Hawks close out the fall portion of their 2014-15 season next Monday and Tuesday when they compete in the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport & Florida Gulf Coast University Classic in Estero, Florida.

"We're playing a similar golf course," Zedrick said. "I know the guys want to finish the fall on a good note. So I think they're going to be pretty fired up to go and get it done and end this fall the right way."