Sapphire, NC – After having play suspended by rain on Monday, the players at the J.T. Poston Invitational had an unusually long day on the course at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley on Tuesday to finish up the event.
 
Most of the players in the 14-team field managed no more than five holes in the second round Monday before play was halted. The Stetson players had gotten their second round off to a good start, with five birdies on the board when play was halted.
 
Tuesday's early return saw the Hatters cooled off, but after a rough start, things picked up. Senior Chris Williard opened his play for the day with a pair of double bogeys sandwiched around a bogey over his first three holes. He got things turned around and finished the round with four birdies and a one-under par 70.
 
As played rolled into the third round, Williard avoided having a bad stretch of holes, but mixed six birdies with five bogeys for a second straight 70. The result was a final score of four-under par 209 for the event, which was good for a tie for 23^rd place.
 
 The Hatters had a chance in the final round to make a move up the team leaderboard, and was tied for ninth late in the day, but Stetson was four over-par over the last two holes, dropping the team to 12^th place. Stetson finished three shots behind Kennesaw State and High Point and four behind host Western Carolina.
 
Georgia Southern, which set an event record with an opening round 265, had to hold off South Carolina on Tuesday as the Gamecocks broke and tied the Eagles' record with scores of 264 in the second round and 265 in the final round. GSU did just enough on the final day of the event to hold on for a one-shot victory, finishing the tournament with a 47-under par score of 805 with South Carolina one shot behind.
 
South Carolina's Ryan Hall posted scores of 65 and 64 on Tuesday to edge teammate Caleb Proveaux and Georgia Southern's Mason Williams by one shot. Hall finished the tournament with a 14-under par score of 199.
 
Overall, 41 players in the event, which had a total of 87 players, finished under par.
 
Freshman Mason Quagliata had the low round of the day for Stetson with a 69 in the final round. He finished tied for 49^th in the tournament with teammate, sophomore Carson Tewell, who was consistent throughout the event with scores of 72, 71 and 72.
 
Sophomore Benjamin Resnick finished tied for 59^th after a final round 75 while freshman Jonathan Lumley finished tied for 69^th in his first collegiate event.
 
The Hatters will be back in action in two weeks when they compete in the Autotrader Collegiate Classic, hosted by Georgia State University at Berkeley Hills Country Club near Atlanta. That event is scheduled to be played October 13-14.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.