Blue Raiders return to action at Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Winter is over for Middle Tennessee men's golf, as the Blue Raiders send three players to Georgia Southern's Thomas Sharkey Individual. Luke Perkins, Tate Heintzelman and Markus Varjun will hit the links at the Georgia Southern University Golf Course for 36 holes on Sunday and 18 on Monday.

Perkins will be making his collegiate debut this week. Heintzelman and Varjun have each played in two tournaments in the 2022-23 season.

WEATHER FORECAST
The forecast for the tournament shows high temperatures in the mid-60s and chances of rain under 15 percent for the two days.

NOTES

Owen Stamper tied the lowest round of his collegiate career with a 66 in the third round and set a new 54-hole personal best with a 206 (-10) at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate.
Stamper leads the Blue Raiders with a scoring average of 70.6.
Two Blue Raiders won Conference USA Golfer of the Week awards in the fall. Owen Stamper earned the honor on September 14, and Markus Varjun won it a week later.
Kevin Jegers recorded individual victories in back-to-back tournaments in 2021-22, each time setting the program 54-hole record.
Barnard's 65 in the third round of last year's Trinity Forest Invitational was the lowest of his career and tied for the fifth-lowest individual round in program history. His 54-hole score of 208 is tied for 22nd.
MTSU returns three of its four players who played in 30 rounds or more in '21-22, including Barnard, Jegers, and Owen Stamper.
The four newcomers to the '22-23 roster include Power 5 transfers Drew Miller (Ole Miss) and Tate Heintzelman (Indiana), and true freshman Sheldon McKnight and Luke Perkins.
Also joining the Blue Raider program are former letterman Payne Denman, who returns as an assistant coach, and former MTSU tennis player Chris Edge, who will serve as a graduate assistant.
The Blue Raiders enter the tournament ranked No. 83 in the Golfweek Collegiate Team Rankings and No. 80 in the most recent Golfstat rankings.

COACH MCENTIRE ON THE BLUE RAIDERS' NEXT CHALLENGE
"I'm excited to get the spring season going. I really think we have a deep team, and I'm looking forward to seeing these guys in as much competition as possible. We decided to pull the redshirt off of Luke Perkins. I expect both him and and Markus along with Carter Maneth to make a run for the Freshman of the Year in Conference USA.

"This week in Statesboro is a very good test at a very good golf course. I look forward to a good week and to getting these guys some more reps, which will help us down the road."

LINEUP
Ind. - Tate Heintzelman
Ind. - Luke Perkins
Ind. - Markus Varjun

TOURNAMENT INFO

	Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate
Dates	Sunday, Feb. 5 - Monday, Feb. 6
Course	Georgia Southern Golf Course Statesboro, Ga. Par 72, 6,900 yards
Format	36 holes Sunday, 18 holes Monday
Teams (14)	Georgia Southern, Auburn, Clemson, Virginia, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, West Virginia, Marshall, South Carolina Beaufort, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Liberty
Live Scoring	Golfstat

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Tate Heintzelman

Kevin Jegers

Carter Maneth

Sheldon McKnight

Drew Miller

Luke Perkins

Owen Stamper

Markus Varjun

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