BRISTOL, TN – Led by Sawyer Spoone's one-under, Walters State is in second place after the first day of the NJCAA DII Southeast District Golf Tournament at the Golf Club of Bristol. 

As a team, the Senators shot a 295 in the first round of the day but followed it up with a 286 in round two, improving their team score by nine shots. 

ABAC leads the Senators by four shots with a 577 total. Cleveland State and Roane State are tied for third place with a 589. The top three teams advance to the NJCAA DII National Tournament. 

"We played pretty well in round two," Walters State coach Brad Hawkins said. "In round one, it was a slight struggle but good to see everyone come back and pack it in pretty close so that if someone played bad, somebody was there to pick them up." 

Spoone led the way for the Senators with a two-under, 69, in round one and a one-over, 72, in round two. 

In round one, Spoone shot a three-under on the front nine as he finished the round with birdies on one, four, six, eight and 16. In round two, Spoone birdied hole six as he concluded his consistent day. 

Spoone is in second place with his 141, trailing by two shots. 

"This is the important time to play well," Hawkins said. "He (Spoone) has been close all year, so it is good to see him have a little bit of confidence and put it out there in a tournament setting."

Along with Spoone, Jeremy Ellis saw a massive jump from round one to round two, improving his score by 10 shots. 

After a 77 in round one, Ellis shot a four-under, 67, in round two. In the second round, Ellis birdied holes one, two, 10, 13, 14 and 18 and eagled the eighth hole. 

Ellis is in a tie for fifth place with a 144, two-over. 

"What more can you ask from a (number) five guy," Hawkins said. "He was the talk of the golf course in the second round." 

Other golfers for Walters State were Nate Vaughan (T-9), Hunter Hartman (14) and AJ Rinehart (T-15). 

Vaughan had a consistent day with a 72 in round one and a 73 in round two. Vaughan birdied holes 11 and 16 in round one and holes 13,16 and 18 in round two. 

Hartman rebounded in round two on Monday with a three-shot improvement. Hartman shot a 77 in round one and 74 in round two. For the day, Hartman birdied hole six in both rounds. 

Rounding out the team was AJ Rinehart who shot a 78 and 74 on the day. Rinehart birdied hole 12 in round one and four, six and 13 in round two. He also had an eagle on the eighth hole in round two. 

ABAC's Hagen Marion is in first place with a 139 after shooting a 66 in round two. 

Up Next:

Walters State will cap off the tournament and try to clinch their spot in the national tournament on Tuesday with the third and final round. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics