Regular-season finale sends No. 22/23 Eagles to Tennessee River Rumble
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The final regular-season event before the South Atlantic Conference Championship keeps No. 22/23 Carson-Newman in East Tennessee for a second-straight event as it heads to the Tennessee River Rumble at the WindRiver Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday in Lenoir City.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The final regular-season event before the South Atlantic Conference Championship keeps No. 22/23 Carson-Newman in East Tennessee for a second-straight event as it heads to the Tennessee River Rumble at the WindRiver Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday in Lenoir City.
The Eagles took a week away from competition after finishing in fourth at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate on March 16 with Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) taking runner-up in the field. That finish helped Randy Wylie's group make its 2021 debut in the Golf Coaches Association of America poll at 22nd and move into 23rd in the latest Golfstat rankings.
An 11-under outing for Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate runner-up @Jake_Mynatt1 locked up his new career-low 54-hole total as @cnmensgolf finished fourth.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) March 17, 2021
��: https://t.co/rRC8KPSh8q pic.twitter.com/DgyTIQGTDG
This is the sixth appearance for the Orange and Blue in the event hosted by Lincoln Memorial, who is ranked fourth and fifth in the nation by Golfstat and the GCAA, respectively. Each of the team's five previous appearances has resulted in top-five finishes, including wins in 2018 and 2016.
At least two Eagles have landed in the top-10 in every appearance except in 2018. That season, Jake Headrick was the lone Eagle in the upper echelon of the field, finishing second. Dalton Reese was the last Eagle to leave the Rumble as the top medalist, posting a 145 in two rounds back in 2016.
Head coach Randy Wylie will rely on the same starting lineup for a third-straight event, this time with a different order.
Mynatt moves up into the No. 1 spot for the first time in his career after his career-best outing in the previous event with an 11-under 205. This season, the junior is averaging a 73.0 through 10 events. The last time he appeared at the Rumble was back in 2019, finishing in 26th at 5-over.
This will be the second time this month that he has played the track in Lenoir City, playing with the C-N B team at the Wind River Invitational on March 1. He won the event at one-under with a 71 in the lone round of action.
Will Collins (Knoxville, Tenn.) stays at the No. 2 for a third-straight event. The junior is coming off of his best finish of the season with a share of 11th at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate where he went 1-under. He is firing a 72.4 scoring clip through nine events this year.
Sitting at the third-seed heading into this week is Alex Hodge (Knoxville, Tenn.), making his River Rumble debut with the Eagles. He was even at Sevierville with a 216 that gave him a share of 15th. Despite yet seeing a finish under par on the season, he still leads the team with a 72.3 scoring average.
Moving up to the four-spot for the trip to WindRiver is Jonathan Nielsen (Hørsholm, Denmark), his highest starting spot this season. In back-to-back events in the starting lineup, the freshman is averaging a 74.7 score in seven rounds. Like Mynatt, he also made the trip to the course earlier this month, landing at third with a 2-over 74.
Jackson Tyler (Wilmington, N.C.) rounds out the starting five after going 10-over in the previous event, tying him at 50th. This will serve as his third appearance at the River Rumble. His best outing at the event came back in his freshman campaign in 2018, finishing in a tie for 11th with a 7-over 151. This year, he is posting a 74.4 average through nine rounds.
For the first time this season, an individual gets to play in an event with Zach Young (Crossville, Tenn.) filling that role. His only appearance on the links this season came at the WindRiver Invitational, finishing in a tie for 11th at 7-over. The last time he traveled to an event with the A-Team was at the Panther Invitational in March 2020 where he played as the fifth-seed. He averaged a 76.2 scoring clip through the four events played in his sophomore season.
C-N will be in a stout field of 17 teams that includes eight hailing from the SAC. Aside from the Orange and Blue and the hosting 'Splitters, there are four other nationally-ranked sides. No. 16/17 North Georgia, No. 14/12 Young Harris, No. 24 Newberry and No. 25 Anderson make the trek to Lenoir City this week.
The 54-hole event opens on Monday with two rounds of play before a final 18 holes close up the tournament on Tuesday. Live scoring will be provided through BirdieFire.
