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Tournament Results
University of Cincinnati sophomore Jared O'Kelley (Canton, Ga./Creekview High School) shot an even par 72 on Monday to finish tied for eighth at 3-under 71-70-72=213 at the American Championship at the Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida.
The result marks the best finish by a Bearcat at a conference tournament since David Tepe won the 2013 BIG EAST Championship.
O'Kelley registered five birdies during Monday's final round to finish off his best three-round tournament score of his college career. He tied Houston's Kyle Pilgrim for eighth place at 73-70-70=213 and finished eight strokes behind tournament medalist Ryan Fricker of USF, who carded an 11-under 67-67-71=205.
"Jared has really bought into everything in terms of managing the course and executing the game plan," UC head coach Doug Martin said. "His physical skills are very good and his mental and course management skills have really developed in the past six to eight months. He has a bright future."
// TEAM STANDINGS
Cincinnati shot its best round of the tournament on Monday at 1-over 289 to finish sixth in the team standings at 12-over 291-296-289=876. USF, ranked 18th in the latest GolfStats rankings, won the event at 27-under 282-275-280=837. No. 29 SMU finished second in the 10-team field at 14-under 289-288-273=850.
"It was a great week for us to be able to finish sixth in this tournament," Martin said. "This is a very competitive conference with five teams likely to advance to the NCAA tournament. We continue to close the gap and I'm really proud of these guys. Two underclassmen led us this week which bodes well for next year."
// OTHER BEARCAT SCORERS
UC junior Emerson Newsome (Dacula, Ga./Mill Creek High School) posted his best three-round tournament score of the year at 71-75-73=219 to tie for 22nd place. Seniors Jared Howard (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome High School) and John Michael O'Toole (Pinson, Ala./Pinson Valley High School/Central Alabama CC) tied for 28th place at 6-over 222. Both players registered their best round of the tournament on Monday, shooting even par 72 scores. Howard finished at 75-75-72=222 while O'Toole ended at 74-76-72=222. Senior Baxter Reeves (Montgomery, Ala./Brewbaker Tech/Central Alabama CC) completed the event in 49th place at 21-over 77-76-84=237.
// LOOKING BACK ON THE YEAR
With the conclusion of the league tournament, the 2014-15 season ends for Cincinnati. UC won the Bearcat Invitational in the fall season and posted four top-5 finishes on the year.
"We had postseason aspirations this year but we weren't able to manage expectations and navigate the more difficult schedule," Martin said. "I think we learned a lot from both a player and coach perspective that will help us continue to develop as a program.
"We're trying to build the right culture," Martin said. "We're really still in the infancy stage - in terms of having the full number of scholarships to offer - and have come a long way over the past three years. We're in a good place."