LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. – The ACU Wildcats finished fourth Tuesday at the Grand Canyon Thunderbird Invitation golf tournament against one of the best fields of the season.
The Wildcats were among a field that included six of the nation's top 20 teams in the latest Golf World/Nike Golf Division II College Coaches' poll. The teams were playing the par-72 Wigwam Golf Course and the top five teams in the field blistered the course.
No. 3 Cal State-Stanislaus won the tournament by firing a 24-under-par 840, including a round of 278 on Tuesday. Tenth-ranked Western Washington was second at 15-under-par 849, while No. 20 Colorado-Colorado Springs was third at 13-under-par 851. ACU – ranked No. 8 in the latest poll – finished fourth at 11-under-par 853 that included a round of 282 on Tuesday, while the Grand Canyon "B" team finished fifth at 7-under-par 857.
The Wildcats had three players finish under par over the three rounds, including
Alex Carpenter, who finished tied for seventh at 5-under-par 216. Carpenter shot rounds of 70-72 on Monday and capped his tournament run with a 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday.
Alex's younger brother,
Luke Carpenter, finished tied for 14th at 3-under-par 213 after firing rounds of 73-67-73, followed by
Trey Sullivan at 2-under-par 214 (tied for 20th) after rounds of 75-71-68.
Kyle Dickerson finished tied for 40th at 4-over-par 220 (71-77-72), while
Adam Carpenter was tied for 61st at 9-over-par 225 (73-74-78).
The Wildcats will be back in action April 9-10 at the Dallas Baptist Golf Classic at The Golf Club of Dallas. That's the team's last tournament before post-season play begins with the Lone Star Conference championship tournament, which will be played April 16-17 at Trophy Club in Roanoke.
