Sunday, October 09, 2011

LEMONT, Ill. – The FGCU men’s golf team overcame a four-stroke deficit to No. 49 Missouri in Sunday’s final round of the John Dallio Memorial Tournament hosted by DePaul by carding an even-par 288 to capture its second team title of the week at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club.

A year removed from losing a final round lead and finishing in second in the very same tournament, the Eagles were able to turn their fortunes to give second-year head coach and Chicago native Brent Jensen a win in his hometown. Just six days ago, FGCU won the Cobra-PUMA Invitational hosted by Xavier University.

Senior Brandon Pena (Clewiston, Fla./Clewiston HS), the reigning A-Sun Player of the Week, led the way with a two-under 70, while junior Kyle English (Bloomington, Ill./University HS) put together a one-under 71 to lead FGCU to its 288. FGCU’s three-round 298-287(-1)-288(E)/873 was three strokes better than Missouri (876) who turned in a 295 on Sunday.

"I'm proud of the way we battled today," said Jensen. "Most of the team had rollercoaster rounds but we were mentally tough all day. They continued to compete and that's how we won the tournament."

The Eagles placed three players in the top 10 and four in the top 20 led by sophomore Matt Cote (Palm Harbor, Fla./Palm Harbor University HS) who finished in a three-way tie for second place in the 78-player field. Cote finished four strokes behind Missouri’s Emilio Cuartero with a 69(-3)-72(E)-76/217. His team-high 13 birdies over the weekend ranked second amongst the field, as he was also one of just two players to play the par 4s at even-par or lower.