LOST PINES, Texas – On the strength of the best final round turned in by the field of 15, the FGCU men's golf team closed its regular season Tuesday in a tie for 10th place at the Texas State-hosted Jim West Intercollegiate at Wolfdancer Golf Club.
 
Junior transfer Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla./Florida Southern College/Lee Virtual Instructional Program) aided in the Eagles' 287 total – their second-best round of the season – with a career-low 68 (-4). Saint Mary's won the tournament with an 858 total, just one shot ahead of Sam Houston State.
 
The Green and Blue moved up from 12th place entering the final round thanks to the only under-par round (-1) by any team on Tuesday and capped the invite with an 886 three-round total, four shots behind 8th-place Wichita State and Texas State.
 
Schultz carded three birdies and an eagle with only a bogey on the par-4 10th being his lone blemish of the day. He commenced his round on the par-3 12th and rolled in his first birdie of the morning on the par-5 14th. He added another on the par-5 18th and a second straight on the par-4 1st before the eagle was turned in on the par-5 3rd.
 
The 68 for Schultz is one stroke better than his previous career best of 69 which he set during his freshman and sophomore years at Florida Southern College. The 68 is also one shot shy of matching the best performance of the year by a Green and Blue member as junior Jake Sherwin (Fort Myers, Fla./Evangelical Christian HS) signed for a pair of 67s this season.
 
Sherwin – the reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Men's Golfer of the Week – continued his absolutely scorching spring with a 1-under 71 in the final round to finish tied for 4th overall with a 211 (-5) total. It marks the first time in Sherwin's career that he's posted three sub-par rounds in the same tournament as he recorded rounds of 69 (-3) and 71 on Monday.
 
Sherwin has now posted eight-straight rounds of even-par or better, with six of those eight being played under par. He has now finished in the top 5 in back-to-back tournaments following a tie for second last weekend. Dating back to the fall, Sherwin has an incredible five-straight top-10 finishes, and of the eight tournaments he's played this year he has finished in the top 15 seven times.
 
"It was nice to see us bounce back and play some pretty good golf to get the low round of the day," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "Austin responded from an uncharacteristic day yesterday, and Jake continues to play great for us. Keaton (Jones), Anthony (Quintessenza) and Casper (Howells) were also much more consistent, and as a group we only made two double bogeys compared with 11 doubles or worse during Monday's two rounds."
 
Keaton Jones (Kitchener, Ontario/ St. Mary's HS) capped a consistent tournament with a 2-over 74 in the final round following a 74 and 72 on Monday. The three-round total of 220 placed him in a tie for 22nd overall – the best finish of the sophomore's season as he's now improved his finish each of the last three tournaments (T-62, T-41).
 
Freshman Anthony Quintessenza (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian HS) signed for a final-round 74 and finished tied for 55th overall with Schultz following a 229 total. Casper Howells (London, England/Bradfield College) rounded out the Eagles' scoring with a 75 on Tuesday and a three-round 237 total.
 
The Eagles posted one of their most steady rounds of the season from the entire lineup as scores ranged from -4 to just +3. By comparison, in Monday's first round those scores ranged from -3 to +10 as over the course of the two rounds FGCU had four individual rounds in the 80s. The 287 final round is second on the year to only a 283 in the second round of the Grub Mart Intercollegiate hosted by Jacksonville State three weeks ago.
 
The Jim West Intercollegiate was the last of four tournaments the Eagles played in a four-week span. The team will now have a brief break from competitive action before it begins action at the A-Sun Championship on Sunday, Apr. 19, in Braselton, Ga.
 
FGCU Competitors
T-4) Jake Sherwin (69-71-71: 211) -5
T-22) Keaton Jones (74-72-74: 220) +4
T-55) Austin Schultz (78-83-68: 229) +13
T-55) Anthony Quintessenza (75-80-74: 229) +13
T-73) Casper Howells (82-80-75: 237) +21
 
Complete Field (Golfweek Rankings Designated By #)
1) #71 Saint Mary's (288-281-289: 858) -6
2) #42 Sam Houston State (282-289-288: 859) -5
3) #121 Stephen F. Austin (289-289-289: 867) +3
T-4) #175 Arkansas-Little (296-282-298: 876) +12
T-4) #108 UT Arlington (301-286-289: 876) +12
T-6) #205 Oral Roberts (296-287-298: 881) +17
T-6) #146 Louisiana Monroe (300-290-291: 881) +17
T-8) #99 Wichita State (286-295-301: 882) +18
T-8) #100 Texas State (291-295-296: 882) +18
T-10 #161 FGCU (296-303-287: 886) +22
T-10 #144 Rice (293-299-294: 886) +22
12) #173 Central Arkansas (306-288-300: 894) +30
13) #150 Houston Baptist (308-296-304: 908) +44
14) 263 UT Pan American (311-310-296: 917) +53
15) N/A Abilene Christian (299-301-320: 920) +56
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For schedule updates, news and information, visit FGCUAthletics.com. For the latest news and behind-the-scenes access to information, photos and videos, follow @FGCU_MGolf on Twitter.
 
COACH BOOKER
FGCU is led by coach Eric Booker, a member of the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour (formerly the Nationwide Series) for portions of 17 years from 1990-2007. Booker finished in the top-5 three times in tournaments on the PGA Tour and also played in the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. He played in 62 career events on the PGA Tour, with his best finish being a tie for 3rd at the 1999 Honda Classic.
 
HELP THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.