2008-09 Men’s Golf Preview OONN TTHEHE RRIGHTIGHT TTRACKRACK TIIGERSGERS LOOOKOK TTOO MAAKEKE BAACKCK-TTOO--BBAACKCK TRRIPSIPS TTOO TTHEHE NNCAACAA TOOURNAMENTURNAMENT fter making it to the NCAA East Regional a fourth-place showing at the Rice Intercollegiate. ship where he fi red rounds of 70-72-75. last season, the Tigers look to bounce back This fall, Benjamin carried a scoring average of 73.3 Jeff Hall, who hails from Franklin, Tenn., com- Aafter losing three seniors. This year the team strokes per round, the second-lowest on the team. peted in three events in the 2007-08 campaign, post- welcomes fi ve newcomers, all whom have the capa- After failing to qualify for any spring events, Jordan ing his best fi nishes of 34th and 48th at the Memphis bility of making an immediate impact. Payne rebounded with a very strong fall. He recorded Intercollegiate and UNC-Greensboro Bridgestone The Tigers turn to seniors Brad Benjamin and Jor- two top-10 fi nishes, including a fi fth place showing at Golf Collegiate Championship, respectively. dan Payne for guidance and leadership in the 2008-09 the Memphis Intercollegiate. He also boasted a scor- Oswestry, Wales, native Mark Trow saw action in season. Benjamin is in his fourth year as a member of ing average of 72.3 strokes per round. three tournaments in the 2007-08 season, posting a the Tiger Golf squad and has earned a letter in each of low fi nish of 17th at the CSU Spring Kick Off where PREVIEW the previous three seasons. Payne is in his second full Juniors he helped lead the Tigers to their only title of the year. year with the Tigers after transferring from the Univer- Brandon Bunn, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., was This fall, Trow competed in three events and held a sity of Arkansas. an integral part of the Tigers’ run to the NCAA Re- scoring average of 76.1 strokes per round. gional last spring. He posted fi ve top-20 fi nishes in Junior transfer Ben Lange, originally from Phoe- Seniors the 2007-08 season, with a low fi nish of fi fth at the nix, Ariz., saw action in just one tournament this fall, Brad Benjamin, a native of Rockford, Ill., posted Memphis Intercollegiate. Bunn also posted an eighth the Memphis Intercollegiate. He fi red rounds of 79- two top-20 fi nishes in the 2007-08 season, including place fi nish at the 2008 Conference USA Champion- 75 to fi nish tied for 52nd. Senior Jordan Payne posted a tied for fi fth fi nish at Head coach Grant Robbins gives some last minute advice as his team warms up for the fi rst round of the 2008 this 2008 Memphis Intercollegiate. NCAA East Regional. 6 2009 University of Memphis Golf Media Guide 2008-09 Men’s Golf Preview Parker Rush, a junior transfer originally from Memphis, Tenn., competed in the Memphis Intercolle- giate this fall, shooting rounds of 83-84 to fi nish 90th. Sophomores Redshirt sophomore Philip Breeding competed in one event this fall, the Memphis Intercollegiate. He carded rounds of 74-78 to fi nish in a tie for 33rd. Stefan Erdedi competed in three events during the 2007-08 season, posting a low fi nish of T18 at the Rice Intercollegiate. This fall, the Helsingborg, Sweden, native saw action in two tournaments. In the UNC-Greensboro Bridgestone Golf Collegiate Championship, he posted a three-round total of 224 to fi nish in a tie for 30th. Freshmen Freshman Jack Belote, who hails from Mem- phis, made an immediate impact on the Tigers. He fi red rounds of 76-68-71 to fi nish 17th at the Mason Rudolph Championship. His performance not only led the Tigers to a seventh-place showing, but also earned him C-USA Male Golfer of the Week. It was the fi rst time in Tiger golf history that a player earned that honor after competing in his fi rst-ever collegiate Sophomore Stefan Erdidi led the Tigers in the Bridgestone Golf Championship this fall, posting rounds of 81-71-72. competition. Belote went on to compete in three more tournaments in the fall, carrying a scoring aver- the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, March 22-24, where ed by UCF. Last year the Tigers fi nished third out of age of 74.9 and posting one more top-20 fi nish at the they fi nished third last year. 11 teams, helping them to earn a postseason berth. Memphis Intercollegiate. On March 27-29, Memphis will head back to the Sun- Memphis competed in four fall events, fi nishing shine state for the FAU Spring Break Championship. in the top-10 in all of them. The Tigers opened the The Schedule Memphis next travels to Madison, Miss., for the season in Nashville, competing in the Mason Ru- The Tigers have a busy spring ahead of them Ole Miss Intercollegiate Collegiate Classic on April dolph Championship hosted by Vanderbilt. The team featuring seven tournaments, including the C-USA PREVIEW 6-7. Last year, the Tigers fi nished 11th, with Ian Roch- fi nished tied for 7th and was led by freshman Jack Championship. The Tigers look to go even further ester tying for fi fth. Belote who posted a three-day total of 217 to fi nish into the postseason this year, after making an appear- On April 10, the U of M will make its way to 13th. The Tigers then returned home to host the an- ance at the NCAA East Regional last spring. Raleigh, N.C., for the River Landing Intercollegiate nual Memphis Intercollegiate at Colonial Country Memphis will kick off the season by traveling to where the Tigers fi nished third last year. Memphis had Club, where they fi nished second behind Ohio State Orlando for the Rio Pinar Invitational. three top-20 fi nishers in that competition, including a in the rain-shortened event. After a week off, the Ti- The Louisiana Classic is next on the schedule, set fi fth place showing by Robbie Greenwell. gers traveled to Birmingham, Ala. to compete in the for March 9-10 in Lafayette, La. The Tigers will then head to Orlando again to Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, where they fi n- The Tigers will then embark to Mobile, Ala., for compete in the Conference USA Championship host- ished 10th in an extremely strong fi eld. Freshman Jack Belote earned C-USA Male Golfer Senior Brad Benjamin held a scoring average of Junior Mark Trow competed in three events this of the Week Honors this fall. 73.3 this fall, the lowest of his career. fall, holding a scoring average of 76.1. 2009 University of Memphis Golf Media Guide 7 2008-09 Conference-USA Men’s Golf Programs EAST CAROLINA HOUSTON MARSHALL Location ......................................Greenville, N.C. Location .......................................Houston, Texas Location ..................................Huntington, W.Va. Enrollment .................................................25,990 Enrollment .................................................30,757 Enrollment .................................................16,551 Founded ........................................................1907 Founded ........................................................1927 Founded ........................................................1837 Colors .........................................Purple and Gold Colors ...........................................Red and White Colors ........................................Green and White Nickname................................................... Pirates Nickname.................................................Cougars Nickname.................................. Thundering Herd Head Coach/Yrs ................ Press McPhaul/3rd yr Head Coach/Yrs .................... Vince Jarrett/5th yr Head Coach/Yrs ................. Joe Feaganes/37th yr Alma Mater ..............................NC State, 1996 Alma Mater ...............................Houston, 1975 Alma Mater ...............................Marshall, 1967 2008 C-USA Finish ....................................7th/11 2008 C-USA Finish ....................................6th/11 2008 C-USA Finish ..................................10th/11 2008 Postseason ............................................N/A 2008 Postseason ............................................N/A 2008 Postseason ............................................N/A Men’s Golf SID ...................................Jody Jones Men’s Golf SID ................................. Jeff Conrad Men’s Golf SID .............................Brandon Parro Ofi ce Phone .................................(252) 737-4522 Ofi ce Phone .................................(713) 743-9410 Ofi ce Phone .................................(304) 696-6525 Fax ...............................................(252) 737-4528 Fax ...............................................(713) 557-3841 Fax ...............................................(304) 696-2325 E-mail [email protected] E-mail [email protected] E-mail [email protected] Website ......................................ECUPirates.com Website ......................................UHCougars.com Website .........................................HerdZone.com MEMPHIS RICE SMU Location ......................................Memphis, Tenn. Location .......................................Houston, Texas Location ...........................................Dallas, Texas Enrollment .................................................20,379 Enrollment ...................................................5,145 Enrollment .................................................10,038 Founded ........................................................1912 Founded ........................................................1891 Founded ........................................................1911 Colors ............................................Blue