Clark, Kangaroos enjoy best finish of fall season

By: Matt Foust

Posted: 11/12/07

The UMKC men's golf team concluded a successful fall season by taking third place at the Battle of the Bend Intercollegiate in Toledo Bend, La.

The Kangaroos earned their third consecutive third-place finish behind the stellar play of senior Stephen Clark, freshman Neil Horsley and sophomore Alex Hogben. Clark snagged a second place finish at the event by shooting a 54-hole total of 218 (70-75-73). Horsley finished in 13th place, firing a 226 (70-74-82) and Hogben finished in 15th place with a final mark of 227 (72-79-76).

The gifted squad finished eight strokes out of first place with a team tally of 895 (289-301-305).

Head Golf Coach J.W. VanDenBorn, enjoyed the third place finish, but he also felt his team missed a solid chance to take the top spot.

"It was a good week for us finishing in third," VanDenBorn said. "However, we were a little more disappointed this week than in previous weeks because we had a good opportunity to win and just didn't execute the last couple of days."

Sam Houston State University took first place at the event while holding off the Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette. The Bearcats concluded play with an impressive 887 strokes (286-295-306).

Sophomore Michael Carnes from Texas State University took first place in the competition, edging UMKC's Clark and junior Devin Carrey of Louisiana-Lafayette in a playoff. Carnes displayed consistency over the three days, finishing at 218 stokes (71-74-73).

UMKC as a team averaged 881 stokes over the final three tournaments of the fall season. They also finished third or better in four of the five tournaments in which they played.

VanDenBorn was pleased with how his players performed during the brief season.

"Four top three finishes, considering the schedule we played, was pretty impressive," VanDenBorn said. "It really gives us something to build on this spring."

mfoust@unews.com