May 11, 2024
Cobras Finish Regional Runner-Up; Will Play for National Championship!
GAINESVILLE, GA -- The Coker men's golf team is going to play for the NCAA D-II National Championship!
Super Senior Killian Ryan fired a 3-under 69 Saturday on the par 72, 7,166-yard Chattahoochee Golf Club layout to lead the 21st-ranked Cobras to a runner-up finish in the talent-laden South-Southeast Super Regional. It will be only the second appearance in the National Championship for Coker Golf, which made the event back in 2006.
Host North Georgia, the No. 1 team in the nation, emerged the regional champion at 9-under par on its home course. Coker, which entered the third and final round six shots back of North Georgia, easily captured second place at +1 after firing rounds of 287-283-295 for an 865 total.
Earning the final three berths to the National Championship, which will be contested May 21-25 at the Orlando County National Golf Club's Crooked Cat Course in Winter Garden, FL, were No. 10 Lee and No. 9 West Florida at +9 and No. 27 Wingate at +10. No. 12 Nova Southeastern, the defending National Champ, and No. 14 Florida Southern found themselves one shot out of the mix at +11.
"This is a tremendous accomplishment for our team, but we're not done yet," Coker head coach John Hackney said. "I have believed all along that these guys could make a run at the national title, and now we're there. We have such a veteran, talented team that I knew this was possible. We were the runner-up at the South Atlantic Conference Championships to the No. 2 team in the nation, Lincoln Memorial, and were second to No. 1 North Georgia this week at Regionals, so we are playing some exceptional golf at the right time."
Ryan (England) shot 73-70-69--212 (-4) to finish fourth of 108 golfers. North Georgia's Jack Vajda was the regional medalist at 71-70-67--208 (-8), followed by Nova Southeastern's Joseba Torres at 65-71-73--209 and Florida Southern's Tyler Mistretta at 68-70-72--210. Torres and Mistretta earned the two individual berths to Nationals.
Coker senior Caleb Tidd, the SAC medalist, took 7th place at 70-71-74--215 (-1). Ryan and Tidd (Indiana) were two of just 10 players of the 108 to break par with their 54-hole totals. There were only 10 rounds in the 60s in a field that included six top 10 teams and 15 of the top 25 nationally
Coker junior Derek McGlaughlin (Pennsylvania) finish 17th at 72-70-76--218 (+2), senior Aaron Teece (Texas) was 32nd at 72-73-76--221 (+5) and senior Jonathan Hallinger placed 40th at 74-72-76--222 (+6). Hallinger tied Tidd for first place at the SAC Championships two weeks ago.
Ryan's round Saturday included birdies on Nos. 6, 7, 11 and 16. He only hit seven fairways and nine greens, but got up-and-down 8-of-9 times and needed just 24 putts. He made 10 birdies overall and tied for first with pars at 39.
"Killian's short game was simply sensational this week," Hackney said. "I think it really helped that he played in the NCAA Regional as an individual last season, so he knew what it was all about. His parents were also here from England, which inspired him to play well. Our deal when he came back for a fifth year was for him to lead us to the National Championships as a team, so we can check that box."
Tidd and McGlaughlin tallied nine birdies apiece and Teece and Hallinger had eight each for the 54 holes.
Overall, the Cobras finished first in par-4 scoring at +13, third in par-3 scoring at +12 and fourth par-5 scoring at -17. Coker was also second in pars at 175 in 270 holes and fifth in birdies with 44.
McGlaughlin, Hallinger and Tidd tied for 11th in par-3 scoring at +2. Ryan was second in par-4 scoring at -2 and Tidd was 9th at even par. Ryan and McGlaughlin tied for 13th par-5 scoring at -5.
"We started our season at the National Championship Preview in Orlando, and I told our team that the plan was to be back there in the spring playing for the top prize in DII golf," Hackney said. "And, here we are. It's a full circle moment.
"We have played some really consistent golf and broken a lot of records along the way this season, and now we have a chance to do something extremely special that has never been done in Coker history: win a National Championship. This is a wonderful opportunity and we plan to make the most of it!"