MGOLF CENTRAL: 2017 The Jackrabbit

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee men's golf team will head to Valentine Neb., Oct. 1-3, to compete in The Jackrabbit. The third-year tournament is sponsored by South Dakota State University and held on the 7,785-yard, par-72 Dunes course at The Prairie Club.

The field features 14 teams, including Boise State, Central Florida, Creighton, Houston, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oral Roberts, Santa Clara, South Carolina, South Dakota State, Tennessee, UConn and UMKC.

The Vols, who are coming off a fifth-place finish at the Carpet Capital Collegiate on Sept. 8-10, will be making their second trip in as many seasons to The Jackrabbit. UT was eight-over-par (872) to place sixth a year ago, with Lorenzo Scalise posting the squad's top individual effort in 14th with a score of 216 (even).

Tennessee's Lineup

Lorenzo Scalise (Sr. / Milan, Italy)
Jake Meenhorst (So. / Auckland, New Zealand)
Rhys Nevin (So. / Cheshire, England)
Spencer Cross (Fr. / Sevierville, Tennessee)
Brayden Garrison (So. / Nolensville, Tennessee)
Sean Wilcox (R-Fr. / Frisco, Texas) -- Playing as an individual

Last Trip To The Jackrabbit

Tennessee's second tournament last season also was The Jackrabbit, with the Vols taking sixth of 11 teams at 287-289-296--872 (+8).
Lorenzo Scalise (216), Juan Carlos Serrano (217) and Jack Smith (219) were all in the top 25, placing 14th, 20th and 24th, respectively.
Rhys Nevin (t31st, 221), Brayden Garrison (t41st, 223) and Hunter Wolcott (t46th, 224) also made the trip to Valentine, Neb., a year ago.
Scalise, Nevin and Garrison will represent the Big Orange again this season.

Opening With A Top-Five Finish

Tennessee opened the 2017-18 campaign by carding a 2-under 862 and tying for fifth out of 15 teams at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Rocky Face, Ga., Sept. 8-10.
UT posted scores of 282, 290 and 290 at The Farm Golf Club.
Senior Lorenzo Scalise was the Vols' top performer, tying for ninth with a 5-under 211 (68-86-75). It marked the sixth top-10 finish of his career.
Sophomore Jake Meenhorst, bolstered by a final-round 68, had UT's second-best effort with an even-par 216 to tie for 22nd. It was the best finish of his college career.
Freshman Chase Roswall took part in his first college tournament, firing an opening-round 67 and winding up tied for 26th after 54 holes with a 2-over 218.

Scalise Leading The Way

Senior Lorenzo Scalise has been UT's top performer in his last three tournaments and seven times during his career.
Scalise has posted top-20 efforts in his last three outings, including a top-10 (t9th) finish in his first tournament of 2017-18, the Carpet Capital Collegiate.
The native of Milan, Italy, has recorded 44 rounds of par or better during his career (two of three this season) and has carded six top-10 finishes and 18 in the top 25 (one and one in those categories as a senior).

Cross, Wilcox Making Collegiate Debuts

Freshman Spencer Cross and redshirt freshman Sean Wilcox will be making their collegiate debuts at this tournament. Wilcox will be playing as an individual.
This will make it three Vols who have made their collegiate debuts in the opening two tournaments of the season. Freshman Chase Roswall was UT's third-best performer at the Carpet Capital Collegiate, tying for 26th at 218 and including a first-round 67 on his scorecard.

Cross was the 54th-ranked player in the 2017 class according to the Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings.

Before coming to UT, Wilcox competed in 15 American Junior Golf tournaments with three top-10 finishes and four top-20 finishes.

More On The Vols

Tennessee returns eight of 11 golfers from a year ago and added two newcomers.
Key losses included seniors Juan Serrano and Jack Smith, who had the second- and fifth-best stroke averages (73.00, 73.83) on the squad last season among regulars.
Lorenzo Scalise is the Vols' lone senior and top returnee with a stroke average of 72.17 in 30 rounds a year ago. That number was the best among Vol regulars.
Scalise's scores counted in 27 of those 30 rounds in 2016-17, and he carded three top-10 tourney finishes as a junior.
Rhys Nevin's score counted in 17 of 21 rounds a year ago, while Jake Meenhorst counted in 12 of 15 and Brayden Garrison's tally was included in 11 of 15. Their averages were 74.22 (7th), 74.07 (6th) and 75.00 (8th), respectively, on the team.
Head coach Jim Kelson (2,023-1,440-61) is in his 20th season as head coach at UT, and he is aided by third-year director of instruction/player development Sean Pacetti.

Tournament Info./Notes

The Prairie Club, designed by Tom Lehman and Chris Brands, was ranked as the 35th Greatest Public Course in America by Golf Digest in 2015.
The Dunes course is marked by dramatic elevation changes, immense blowouts and views of the Sandhills in all directions. The course features a wind-shaped landscape and a massive rolling seascape of prairie grass, providing a challenge for those desiring a links-style challenge.
Teams will play 54 holes on the 7,726-yard, par-72 layout.
Tee times will be 9 a.m. CT (10 ET) on Sunday and Monday, and 8:30 a.m. CT (9:30 ET) on Tuesday.
This marks the third year of the event, with South Dakota State hosting despite hailing from Brookings, which is more than four hours from the course in Valentine, Neb.

Additional Information

Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com.
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee men's golf team, visit the tournament central page on utsports.com, follow @Vol_Golf on twitter and like the Vols at Facebook.com/TennesseeMensGolf.

University of Tennessee Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Spencer Cross

Brayden Garrison

Jake Meenhorst

Rhys Nevin

Chase Roswall

Lorenzo Scalise

Juan Serrano

Jack Smith

Sean Wilcox

Hunter Wolcott

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