North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Golf Travels to Tucker Intercollegiate
9/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 11, 2003
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The NC State men's golf team will make their first tournament appearance of the year with a trip west to New Mexico for the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, September 12 and 13. The par 72, 7,354 yard, Championship Golf Course and the University of New Mexico will play host to a field of 20 teams that features only two teams east of the Mississippi in NC State and Toledo.
With the graduation of Justin Walters and Jason Moon, both All-Americans for their play in 2003-04, senior Fernando Mechereffe and sophomore Stephen Lewton will lead the Wolfpack with the help of a talented group of newcomers. Garry Hill, Jerry Richardson, and Wesley Horne will complete the lineup for the first tournament of coach Richard Sykes' 33rd year at the helm of one of the most consistent teams in the country during his tenure.
Mechereffe, a native of Brazil, returns for his third and final season after transferring from Wingate University where he won the NCAA Division II South Regional in 2001. He played in 13 tournaments as a sophomore, and was fourth on the team with a stroke average of 73.8. As a junior, Mechereffe was third on the squad with a stroke average of 73.7 in 12 tournaments on the year with a low round of 67 at the Cleveland Golf/ASU Invitational. The 73.7 is the top mark among returning players for 2003-04.
Lewton, from Milton Keynes, England, played in all nine spring tournaments after joining the team in January. He had three top-20 finishes and a stroke average of 74.9. He'll be looked upon as the team's No. 2 golfer for the year, and the talented Lewton should be up for the task.
Joining the two veterans will be senior Wesley Horne, who played in two tournaments last season and three overall in his career. He'll make the trip after his solid play this summer and fall, and will be counted on to keep the Pack in contention.
Garry Hill and Jerry Richardson are two freshman with varying backgrounds that will have similar roles this year. Both will need to adjust to the college game quickly and with low scores to help NC State remain a fixture in the top-25. Hill is from South Africa while Richardson hails from Burlington, N.C.
