Greensboro, N.C. -- The University of Lynchburg men's golf team tied for second place at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships Tuesday finishing five strokes off first-place Guilford.
Powered by a 67 from Andrew Watson, the Hornets posted the lowest score from any team in Round 3 with a 285.
The Hornets earned their best finish at the conference tournament since winning the whole thing in 1989.
Watson (73-75-67--215) moved up six spots in the final round after posting five birdies on the back-9. Overall, Lynchburg's four scoring players shot -10 on the back-9.
"I think we were settled into the round," Watson said. "We had a couple of good holes to close out the front-9, and the back-9 starts with good momentum holes."
Watson picked up momentum on the par-4 10th with a birdie. He made par on 11 and 12 before making back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14. He closed out his round with a birdie on 18 in front of the gallery awaiting the finishers at Forest Oaks Country Club.
When the Hornets got into the clubhouse at -3 on the day, they had to wait for the final pairings to finish before finidng out they had their best ODAC finish in 34 years.
After a 290 in Round 1, Lynchburg fell out of the final pairings with a 298 on Monday. However, Watson and his teammates were still locked in for the final round.
"We knew we were still in a good spot even though we fell out of the final pairing," Watson said. "Going out before the leaders let us go out there and post good scores the rest of the field had to beat."
Three Hornets finished in the top-10. Watson tied for third, and Eddie Coffren V (69-74-75--218) and Alan Van Asch (75-72-71--218) tied for seventh.
Harrison Smith (73-81-72--226) tied for 20th, and Tate Corbett (79-77-82--238) tied for 43rd.
Watson's third-place finish marks the best-individual result for a Lynchburg men's golfer at the conference championship since Conrad Anguera placed third in 2010.
"All day and all week, I felt like I was hitting a lot of good putts," Watson said. "I went on a stretch of birdies, and I was confident they were going in. I was hitting good shots so I might as well give it a good run each time."
Watson also complimented his teammates: not just for their performance at the tournament, but for their entire season.
"We have a lot of good players," Watson said. "Everyone has stepped up all year. Eddie and I were talking about how anyone could step up each week. Everyone's competing for the top spot."
Director of men's and women's golf Michael Veverka has had the program ranked nationally all season and sent Coffren V to the NCAA championships in 2022.
"Right when we finished, Coach V started talking about how this is a great start for next year," Watson said. "We're in a good spot because we will all have the experience. We're ready to lead the new talent."
Veverka also did something no other Lynchburg golf coach has ever accomplished. He coached four players onto All-ODAC teams. Watson and Coffren V were second-teamers, and Van Asch and Smith earned third-team spots. The previous high-water mark for Hornets on postseason teams was three (1979, 2008, 2009, 2010).
Watson also earned the conference's scholar-athlete of the year award. He is the first scholar-athlete in program history and ended the season with a 74.26 scoring average.
Lynchburg awaits the announcement of the NCAA championship field on Monday, May 8. Guilford earned the ODAC's automatic bid to the national championship.
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