Top 10 Eagles Ready for NJCAA National Championship Run
MERIDIAN, Miss. — The Meridian Community College men's golf team is set to compete this week at the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championship held May 19-22 at Swan Lake Golf Club in Plymouth, Indiana.
The Eagles arrived Sunday and spent both Sunday and Monday checking in and preparing for the four-round championship tournament that officially begins Tuesday morning.
The national championship field consists of teams and individuals from 36 schools across the country.
Meridian earned an at-large bid into the national championship after finishing third at the Gulf South District Championship. Mississippi Gulf Coast and Hinds claimed the automatic qualifying spots after finishing first and second respectively.
The Eagles enter the championship ranked No. 10 in the Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Division II Coaches Poll and are coming off one of the strongest seasons in recent program history. MCC captured three tournament team championships during the season while also producing multiple individual medalists.
Meridian will also look to improve upon last season's performance at Nationals, where the Eagles finished 9th overall.
Three golfers from last year's national championship squad return this season:
- Jace Duckworth
- Dax Reaux
- Ayers Mathis
The veteran trio will be joined by standout freshmen:
Head Coach Lance Strickland expressed excitement about returning to the national stage and praised the consistency his team has shown throughout the year.
"Our team has competed well all season long and stayed motivated from the fall into the spring," Strickland said. "Winning tournaments during both halves of the season has helped prepare us for this opportunity to compete against the best teams in the country."
The Eagles are scheduled to tee off Tuesday beginning at 9:45 a.m. from Hole No. 1.
Fans can follow live scoring throughout the championship at:
https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/244655/scoring/team
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