Owens claims Top 5 finish in final go at The Grove

Tuesday, October 8

College Grove, TN

All Day

Middle Tennessee

Intercollegiate at The Grove

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

Photo by: Nathan Wallach/Athletic Communications

10/8/2019 4:23:00 PM | Men's Golf

Highlight

By: @MTAthletics

Final Results

COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Men's Golf closed out the rain-shortened Intercollegiate at The Grove Tuesday with a round of 10-over par seeing them slide two spots down the leaderboard into a seventh place finish at 18-over par (296-298=594).

Conditions proved difficult after heavy rain Sunday evening and Monday soaked the course at The Grove with temperatures dropping significantly throughout the tournament.

Despite the tough playing conditions in the Intercollegiate's second and final round, Tanner Owens managed to put together a strong showing in his final go-around on MT's home course.

The lone senior for the Blue Raiders, Owens fired a 2-under par 70 to finish tied for fourth and collect the third Top 5 finish of his career with a 2-under par (72-70=142) 36-hole performance.

"Congratulations to Tanner finishing in the Top 5 as a senior in his last tournament at The Grove, what a great week for him," Head Coach Mark McEntire said. "He's been a really consistent player for us and I'm looking for that to continue throughout his senior year and would love for him to contend for Conference USA Player of the Year. We were okay, but I thought we definitely struggled a little bit at times this week."

Redshirt freshman Michael Barnard impressed in his first appearance at The Grove, collecting a Top 20 finish with a 2-over par (73-73=146) week landing him in a tie for 17^th place.

Sophomore Palmer Sadlowski, competing as an individual, provided a good outing for McEntire's bunch, finishing tied for 20^th in the field of 88 golfers at 3-over par (76-71=147) after a stellar round of 1-under par 71 on Tuesday.

Freshman Mattias Varjun put together an improved round on Tuesday to close out his first home event as a Blue Raider at 9-over par (78-75=153) and tied for 49^th place.

Rookie Gavin Clements and junior Ilari Saulo rounded out the scoring for the Blue Raider lineup at 12-over par and 17-over par, respectively.

Rookie Steven Haremski and sophomore Jake Marvelli also competed in this week's Intercollegiate at The Grove as individuals, turning in 36-hole totals of 15-over par and 16-over par, respectively.

"I thought it was a good week for our team, but obviously Ilari is a big piece for us, and when he plays the way he did this week it's hard for us to get to where we want to go," McEntire added. "We've had a lot of chances to take individuals this year though and get this young team a lot of extra reps, so we'll get back to the drawing board this week and try to find a little more consistency."

The Blue Raiders return to the course on Oct. 21-22 when they take part in the Little Rock Invitational at Chenal Country Club.

For all the latest information on Middle Tennessee Men's Golf, follow the #BlueRaiders on Facebook (@MTMensGolf), Twitter (@MT_MGolf) and Instagram (MT_MGolf).