Ospreys Sweep A-Sun Men's Golf Championships

Tuesday, April 23

The Legends Course (Braselton, Ga.)

All Day

University of North Florida

Atlantic Sun Conference Championship

Photo by: Todd Drexler

4/23/2013 4:16:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final Results (pdf)

BRASELTON, Ga. -- Led by sophomore MJ Maguire's medalist finish, the No. 17 North Florida Men's Golf team claimed its second consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference Championship on Tuesday.

The Ospreys carded a final round 291, the lowest round of the day and second best of the tournament, finishing with a 54-hole total of 881. UNF entered the final round with a one-shot lead, cut captured the title by 14 strokes.

The win marked the first career title for Maguire, a native of St. Petersburg, Fla., and was also the first medalist finish for a UNF player at the Atlantic Sun Championship. Four Ospreys had posted runner-up finishes in the event, including three in the last two years, prior to Maguire's championship finish.

"I am extremely proud of the play of our entire team," said UNF head coach Scott Schroeder, who has guided the Ospreys to three A-Sun titles in the last six seasons. "It took a total team effort for us to defend our conference title. It was really impressive to see our underclassmen step up and take the lead for us especially in the final round. I so excited for MJ to earn his first collegiate title at the conference championship. It is definitely another bright spot on his strong play this season."

Maguire fired a final round four-under 68, the low round of the tournament, in leading the Ospreys to the victory. He finished with a tournament best 12 birdies over the three days including six in his final 15 holes of play. Maguire finished as the only player under par at 215 (-1), edging ETSU's Rhys Pugh by two shots.

UNF sophomore Joey Petronio and senior Kevin Phelan joined Maguire among the Top Five finishers, earning All-Tournament accolades. Petronio was fourth at 220 including a final round 72 while Phelan finished fifth at 221 with a 75 on Tuesday.

Senior Sean Dale, the No. 2 ranked golfer in the nation, struggled with a final round 80 but finished the event tied for 16th at 229. Freshman Austin Padova rounded out the Osprey lineup carding a final round 76 to finish tied for 35th.

The Ospreys led wire-to-wire in the team competition with ETSU rallying on the final day to finish second at 895. Kennesaw State finished third at 897 followed by Jacksonville (911), Mercer (918), Florida Gulf Coast (924), USC Upstate (926), Lipscomb (929), Northern Kentucky (930) and Stetson (938).

North Florida now awaits the announcement of the NCAA Regional fields on May 6. Regional play begins at six pre-determined sites (LSU, Florida State, Ohio State, Arkansas, Washington State, Arizona State) on May 16-18 with the NCAA Championships taking place May 28-June 2 at Capital City Club in Atlanta, Ga.