Final team and player results

Morganton, N.C.----Thanks to a school-record (tying) 65 by freshman Jake Smith, the Wingate University men's golf team moved to fifth place during the final round of the Donald Ross Intercollegiate at the Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club Tuesday. Smith's five-under-par round vaulted him to a tie for ninth place on the individual leader board.
 
Bulldog sophomore Nick Fleming continued his steady play, shooting a 72 to finish tied for seventh place at 212. Smith was one shot back at 213. Senior Anthony Parziale and sophomore James Edwards finished at 216 and 217, respectively. Mount Olive shot a two-under-par 278 Tuesday to rally for the team trophy. The Trojans shot a 54-hole total of 848, edging Belmont Abbey by two strokes. Wingate finished with an 857.

Tournament Information

Donald Ross Intercollegiate
Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club (par 70, 6718 yards)
Morganton, N.C. (Lenoir-Rhyne University, host)

Wingate Line-up

5-Wingate 289-286-282=857
T7-Nick Fleming, 70-70-72=212
T9-Jake Smith, 74-74-65=213
T22-Anthony Parziale, 71-72-73=216
T24-James Edwards, 74-71-72=217
T48-Colin Dutton, 76-73-76=225

Wingate/Tournament Notes

- Jake Smith's 65 was the low round of the day Tuesday
- His tally ties Wingate's NCAA-era school record for low round
- Most recently, Charles Joubert ('20) posted a first-round 65 in the Tennessee River Rumble on March 29, 2021
- Earlier, Nicolas Brown ('21) had a first-round 65 in Saint Leo's Griffin Invitational on Sept. 30, 2019
- Smith had eight birdies in the third round
- During one stretch, the Bulldog newcomer birdied five-of-six holes on the front nine (holes two-to-seven)
- Smith's Tuesday fireworks gave him 12 birdies for the tourney, tied for third on the individual list
- Nick Fleming played the par threes at even-par 3.00, tied for fourth on the tourney's statistical charts
- Wingate's 174 pars as a team were second only to Belmont Abbey's 177
- The Bulldogs played the par fours at plus-24 (4.13), second to the aforementioned Crusaders
- The top five teams were Mount Olive (848), Belmont Abbey (850), Erskine (854), Lenoir-Rhyne (856) and Wingate (857)
- Wingate's third-round 282 was the third-best round Tuesday
- Only Mount Olive (278) and Erskine (281) posted lower rounds Tuesday
- Mount Olive senior Brice Ballin led wire-to-wire to earn medalist honors
- Ballin shot an even-par 70 Tuesday to finish at five-under 205, three strokes lower than his closest competitors
- Eighteen teams and 94 student-athletes participated in this year's Donald Ross Intercollegiate
- The Donald Ross Intercollegiate concludes Wingate's fall schedule
- The Bulldogs return to the links Feb. 14-15, venturing to St. Augustine, Florida for the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate (SKI)
- South Atlantic Conference member Lincoln Memorial hosts the SKI at the St. Johns Golf and Country Club
 
What They Are Saying

Wingate head men's golf coach JD Lamm: "When we started this morning, it was 38 degrees…so the first three holes were a grind as we tried to keep our hands warm. As the weather improved, our play followed suit. This was a solid day for us overall."
 
"Jake Smith started slow, but then he got a hot putter…birdieing eight of 12 holes at one point. This helped push us up the leader board. Overall, I am proud of the way we played this week. This is a great way to end the fall and give us momentum heading into the spring."
 
Wingate freshman student-athlete Jake Smith: "I had a really fun time playing this week and managed to finish pretty well. I am proud of the team for grinding it out and ending the fall season with a good tournament."
 
Wingate University

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a laboratory of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina. Wingate offers 37 undergraduate majors as well as eight master's and five doctoral degrees. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences; the Levine College of Health Sciences; the Byrum School of Business; and the College of Professional Studies, which includes the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.

Wingate is a leader in healthcare education, and nearly one in five Wingate undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 24 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award for 13 years straight. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.