BOCA RATON, Fla. – After putting together one of the best rounds in program history again on Sunday, the FGCU men's golf team moved up to a solo 6th-place finish at the FAU Slomin Autism Invitational with a 279 final round.
 
The Eagles' 279 performance is tied for the 12th-best in program history, and equals the 4th-best final round all-time.
 
Andrew Potter tied for 6th overall out of 113 golfers as the junior signed for a final-round 69 to finish the 54-hole event with a 210 total (-6). His final-round 69 was matched by Grant Renegar (McComb, Miss./Meridian CC/Parklane Academy) as the senior tied for 17th after breaking par for the first time on the weekend following a pair of even-par 72 performances on Friday and Saturday to record a 213 total (-3).
 
FGCU (858) finished just one shot back of 5th-place Georgetown (857) and only 13 shy of 2nd-place Connecticut (845) as Division-II and #6 nationally-ranked Lynn won the 19-team invitational with an 826 three-round total.
 
"Today was a nice bounce-back performance from the previous two days," said FGCU head coach Eric Booker. "The team had something to prove to themselves and they did that in the final round. We're still trending in the right direction, and I'm very proud of this round today. We'll continue the process of understanding the playing strategy and implementing."
 
All four of FGCU's counting scores were below par on the day as Cole Castro (Homestead, Fla./South Dade HS) shot a 2-under 70 and Doug Smith (Windermere, Fla./Olympia HS) signed for a 1-under 71. Freshman Castro tied for 30th overall with a 217 total, while sophomore Smith finished one shot back at 218.
 
Michael Keymont (Orlando, Fla./Eastern Florida State College/Timber Creek) bounced back from a tough two rounds with a 73 on Sunday, while individual Brent Fredericksen (Staten Island, N.Y./Saint Peter's Boys HS) recorded a final-round 72 after bouncing back from a 4-over start through his first seven holes to finish at even par.
 
Combined with FGCU's 277 at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate earlier this spring, this marks the first time since 2011-12 that the Green and Blue have recorded two rounds in the same year under 280. Additionally, the 9-under par 279 performance for the Eagles on Sunday represented a tie for the 10th-best round relative to par in program history.
 
Potter (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) took advantage of the par-5 holes as he led the field by playing them at 9-under par for the three days.
 
Next up, the Eagles will wrap up their regular season across the country at Loyola Marymount's Geiberger Invitational Apr. 9-10 in Palm Springs, Calif.
 
FGCU Competing Golfers
T-6) Andrew Potter: 69-72-69: 210
T-17) Grant Renegar: 72-72-69: 213
T-30) Cole Castro: 73-74-70: 217
T-34) Doug Smith: 73-74-71: 218
T-34) (I) Brent Fredericksen: 71-75-72: 218
T-91) Michael Keymont: 76-79-73: 228
 
FAU Slomin Autism Invitational Competing Teams (# Golfstat Ranking)
1) #6 (D-II) Lynn: 281-273-272: 826
2) #141 Connecticut: 273-285-287: 845
3) #143 Jacksonville State: 290-279-281: 850
4) #195 Houston Baptist: 282-283-286: 851
5) #170 Georgetown: 285-296-276: 857
6) #178 FGCU: 287-292-279: 858
7) #138 Oakland: 292-287-281: 860
8) #224 Hartford: 289-288-289: 866
9) #191 Bethune-Cookman: 288-287-293: 868
10) #157 FAU: 291-291-288: 870
11) #216 DePaul: 298-292-286: 876
12) #180 North Dakota State: 298-299-281: 878
13) #237 Murray State: 293-288-300: 881
14) #257 Monmouth: 298-292-293: 883
15) #247 Stetson: 289-303-292: 884
16) #278 Manhattan: 299-304-291: 894
17) #277 Hofstra: 297-306-295: 898
18) #214 Morehead State: 306-301-293: 900
19) #283 Canisius: 307-307-301: 915
 
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 and @FGCU_MGolf on Instagram.
 
COACH BOOKER
FGCU is led by 4th-year 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. He has led the Eagles to a pair of wins in limited-field events the last two years, in addition to a tie for 1st at Stetson's Legacy Intercollegiate in February of 2018. 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.