DELAND â€" Jude Eustaquio closed out his college career with a 7th-place finish at the NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional, but while Florida Southern improved its score for the second day in a row, the Moccasins saw their season end when they were unable to move any higher in the 20-team field.
The Super Region tournaments feature 10 teams from two different regions, for a total of 20 teams playing together at one site. To advance to the national tournament, a team must finish in the top five, and though Florida Southern was within striking distance of that spot after round one, the deficit grew over the final two rounds, even with the Mocs shooting better each day. The Moccasins ended up 17th, with a 3-day total of 912, while fifth-place Columbus State finished with an 885.
Florida Southern was one of only two schools in the tournament to improve its score from round-to-round. The other was Nova Southeastern, which placed 15th with an 899.
Leading the Moccasins for the third day in a row was Eustaquio, who shot a one-over par 73 to finish at +3 (219) for the tournament. He went to the clubhouse tied for 17th, but kept moving up the board as the other golfers finished their round, eventually settling into a seventh-place tie with eight others. That group was seven strokes behind the co-champions, Ricardo Gouveia of Lynn and Michael Marshburn of Barton (NC), who each shot a four-under par 212 for the tournament. Barry’s Daniel Stapff was the only other golfer in the field to break par with a 214 (-2).
Eustaquio’s final score left him one stroke shy of the score needed to qualify for the national finals as an individual. The top two golfers in the super regional who are not with one of the advancing teams earn those spots, which went to Delta State’s Grant Goforth and Coker’s Jake Murphy. Goforth finished in fourth place with an even-par 216, and Murphy tied for fifth with a 218 (+2).
Freshmen Tim Crouch and Shane Convery each shot a 76 for the Mocs on Wednesday, junior Lee White had a 77, and senior Shelton Smith had a 78. Overall in the tournament, Crouch was Florida Southern’s #2 golfer with a 230, followed by White (232), Smith (233) and Convery (238).
Two schools from the Sunshine State Conference finished 1-2 in the team standings, with Lynn beating Barry by four strokes for the Super Region title. Barton, Newberry (SC) and Columbus State rounded out the top five and will join Lynn and Barry at next week’s national tournament in Florence, Alabama.
