Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Buffalo Rock Southern Showdown
Rauscher earns medalist honors at the Buffalo Rock / Southern Showdown
10/31/2006 | 12:00:00 | Men's Golf
Oct. 31, 2006
By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Southern Illinois University's Andrew Rauscher carded a 12-under-par 201 to pick up the individual title and lead the Saluki men's golf team to a runner-up finish this week at the Buffalo Rock Southern Showdown.
Hosted by Birmingham Southern College, the Buffalo Rock / Southern Showdown was a 54-hole tournament that took place at Bent Brook Golf Course in Birmingham, Ala. The par-71 course played at 7,075 yards.
Rauscher's win is his first as a Saluki and SIU's first individual title in two years. The last came from Kyle Hosick at the 2004 Murray State Invitational.
"It felt pretty nice, I've won a few times before in junior college, but those are nothing compared to this," said Rauscher.
"I also really like the way that I did it. I played consistent golf with all three rounds in the 60s; I didn't commit too many errors out there."
Rauscher posted rounds of 68-66-67--201 to finish at 12-under-par. Along the way he also broke SIU records for 36- and 54-hole totals. His 134 after the second round breaks Brian Norman's old record of 136 at the 2003 Blue Demon Invitational. Rauscher's 54-hole total of 201 also breaks Sean McNemar's record of 207 in 54 holes, which he set at the 2004 Harris Fall Classic.
Additionally, with his three rounds in the 60s this week, the River Falls, Wisc. native moves up to second all-time at SIU in rounds in the 60s as he now has seven on the season.
Rauscher was not the only one breaking records this week. As a team, the Salukis also new 36- and 54-hole records. SIU posted a 9-under-par 559 following the second round, breaking the old record of 569, which was set at the 2004 Harris Fall Classic. Southern Illinois also broke the old 54-hole record by 16 strokes with its 13-under 839. The old record was 855, set at the 2004 Harris Fall Classic.
"The kids did an extremely good job this week and the big thing was that everyone contributed," said SIU head coach Leroy Newton.
"Also, this was a very good golf course, don't let the scores deceive you. It was really long and we are a long-hitting team, so we played it wide open."
And a team effort it was as four out of the five Salukis in the tournament set new season-best scores.
Finishing behind Rauscher was senior co-captain Andrew Gwinup in a tie for ninth with a 2-under-par 211. Gwinup's 211 is not just a season-best, but a new career best for the Glen Carbon, Ill. native.
Packed together and rounding out scoring for Southern Illinois were the trio of Mark Schmitz, Blake Driskell and Matt Ellis.
Schmitz, a senior from St. Louis, carded a 2-over-par 215 to finish in a tie for 25th overall. His 215 is a season-best as well as his lowest score since transferring to SIU prior to the 2005-06 season.
One stroke behind Schmitz is Driskell, a freshman from Cape Girardeau, Mo., at 3-over-par 216. Driskell's 216 is one stroke better than his prior low of 217 from the Murray State Invitational earlier this season.
And one stroke behind Driskell is Ellis in a tie for 38th with a 4-over-par 217. The highlight of the tournament for Ellis was carding a 2-under-69 in he first round of the tournament, his second round in the 60s this season.
The runner-up finish is second for the Salukis this season as a team. The other runner-up finish came three weeks ago at the Rex Chaney Eagle Classic.
SIU finished the Buffalo Rock / Southern Showdown three strokes behind tournament champion Murray State. The Racers won with a 16-under-par 836.
With the completion of the Buffalo Rock / Southern Showdown, the Salukis also finish their fall season. The SIU men's golf team will return to action Feb. 25-26, 2007 at the Pizza Hut / BellSouth Classic at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia, Miss.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Final results from the Buffalo Rock / Southern Showdown hosted by Birmingham Southern College at Bent Brook Golf Course. Par: 71. Yardage: 7,075.
TEAM SCORING
1 - Murray State University - 278-280-278--836 (-16)
2 - Southern Illinois University - 278-281-280--839 (-13)
3 - Birmingham Southern College - 277-285-284--846 (-6)
4 - Berry College - 273-286-288--847 (-5)
5 - Wofford College - 283-279-288--850 (-2)
6 - Tennessee Tech University - 289-284-281--854 (+2)
T7 - University of Evansville - 290-289-282--861 (+9)
T7 - Samford University - 291-283-287--861 (+9)
9 - Nicholls State University - 286-295-284--865 (+13)
10 - University of Tennessee at Martin - 293-288-289--870 (+18)
11 - Jackson State University - 288-295-289--872 (+20)
12 - United States Military Academy - 291-286-296--873 (+21)
13 - University of Montevallo - 296-284-303--886 (+31)
14 - Birmingham Southern College "B Team" - 296-297-304--897 (+45)
T15 - Samford University "B Team" - 302-296-309--907 (+55)
T15 - Savannah State University - 303-291-313--907 (+55)
17 - Faulkner University - 308-305-303--916 (+64)
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
1 - Andrew Rauscher - 68-66-67--201 (-12)
T9 - Andrew Gwinup - 70-71-70-211 (-2)
T25 - Mark Schmitz - 73-70-72--215 (+2)
T32 - Blake Driskell - 71-74-71--216 (+3)
T38 - Matt Ellis - 69-75-73--217 (+4)
Players Mentioned
