#15 Mocs Take Second at SSC Championship; Alvarez Finished in Top-10

LAKELAND, Fla. – The fifteenth-ranked Florida Southern men's golf team did all it could to fight for the 2022 Sunshine State Conference Championship, turning in the second-lowest tournament team score of 279 (-9) Tuesday afternoon to capture second place with 857 (-7) at Grasslands Golf and Country Club. The Moccasins saw four players finish inside the top-25 of the 55-player field including Adam Alvarez who finished tied for ninth.
 
"As much as we would've loved to win, I am proud of the guys for playing our best round of the season in the final round, when we had to," Head Coach Lee White '12 stated. "A runner-up finish against a strong SSC field gives us momentum going forward."
 
The Moccasins started the final day in third place and needed to push the No. 1 Barry Buccaneers to the final hole to make a run for the title. Florida Southern edged out Nova Southeastern, 860 (-4), who fired a team score of 280 (-8) Tuesday, and Saint Leo, 861 (-3), as all three teams fought for first place. The Buccaneers would capture the team title with a Sunshine State Conference record 18-under-par 270 for the final 18 and tie the SSC record for a 54-hole score of 844 (-20).
 
Adam Alvarez would lead the team with six birdies and was sitting six-under at the turn before finishing at four-under 68 for Tuesday's round for a tournament 54-hole score of 214 (-2). Alvarez made nine pars over the final 18 holes to push himself to the top of the leaderboard.
 
Johnny Tucker, Noah Kumar, and Sam Rogers finished inside the top-21 players while Clay Tucker turned in a top-30 finish in 29^th place. J. Tucker finished at one-under 215 for the tournament with a one-over 73 Tuesday with one birdie and 13 pars. Kumar finished tied for 18^th after a two-under 70 for an even-par 216 for the tournament. Rogers also went under-par with a 70 (-2) to finish at one over 217 for the championship. C. Tucker used a one-under 71 to cut a stroke over the final 18 holes for a tournament score of 220 (+4).
 
The Tucker brothers, Clay and Johnny, tied with 13 pars on the day while Kumar was second with 12 for the round. Both Alvarez and Rogers each tied for nine pars while all five players notched a birdie or more to help Florida Southern finish atop the statistical category with 58 birdies.
 
The tournament concluded after a four-hole playoff that saw Barry's Nicolas Quintero defeat his teammate, and no. 1 player in Division II, AJ Ewart with a birdie on the 18^th par-3. The duo finished tied for first with Jake Nash of Saint Leo at 209 (-7), as Nash and Quintero were playing together all day going back and forth for the lead. Ewart was in the clubhouse with his seven-under using a Championship record 64 (-8) to push the limit and pressure Nash and Quintero to finish strong. The duo finished the 18^th with a par to head to the playoff.
 
The playoff started on the 18^th hole, a par-3 playing 160-yards. Quintero and Ewart birdied the hole while Nash parred it, sending the duo to the next playoff hole, the 10^th par-4. Again the duo would match each other with a par and head to the ninth for a third playoff hole. Quintero was going for a birdie that stopped just shy where the two would again par and head to the fourth playoff, back to the 18^th. Attacking the pin, Quintero would sink his birdie putt to defeat his teammate for the individual SSC Champion crown.
 
With the first place going to Quintero, Ewart and Nash finished tied for second while Palm Beach Atlantic's William Hartford, who was atop the leaderboard all weekend, finished in third at 210 (-6) ahead of Tampa's George Eubank, Jr.'s 211 (-5). The five players made up the SSC All-Tournament Team.

 
2nd – Florida Southern – 294-284-279 – 857 (-7)
T9 – Adam Alvarez – 76-70-68 – 214 (-2)
T14 – Johnny Tucker – 72-70-73 – 215 (-1)
T18 – Noah Kumar – 73-73-70 – 216 (E)
T21 – Sam Rogers – 76-71-70 – 217 (+1)
T29 – Clay Tucker – 73-76-71 – 220 (+4)

 
The Mocs will look to the NCAA regional in the coming weeks, stay tuned for all things Florida Southern men's golf on social at @FSC_MGOLF and @FSCMOCS as well as www.fscmocs.com