Fribbs Ties For 64th In NCAA BG Golf Regional

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - University of Colorado junior Derek Fribbs couldn't get on the roll he needed to get back into the chase to advance as an individual into the NCAA Championship Finals, instead firing a final round 81 in tying for 64th in the NCAA Men's Bowling Green Golf Regional which was completed here Saturday.

Fribbs recorded a 75-79-81-235 scorecard over the three days and rounds, or 19-over par on the 7,248-yard, par-72 The Club at Olde Stone course layout.  As he did on Friday, he opened on No. 10 and recorded three straight pars but then ran into trouble.  He played the next five holes at 5-over (three bogeys and a double) but bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 18th, the third day in a row he birdied the hole.  That would be his only hole in red for the round, however, as he finished up with three birdies and a double on the front nine.

Fribbs had six birdies, 27 pars, 17 bogeys and four doubles for the week.  He played the par-3s at 5-over, the par-4s at plus-12 and the par-5s at 2-over.

"Derek just didn't play well today, kind of just struggled all week," CU head coach Roy Edwards said.  "It was a hectic deal to begin with, and in the end, he had a few good moments but overall it just wasn't his week.  It was a great experience for him and he's fired up to improve and get better.  I am really proud of him for making it and it was well deserved.  We are looking forward to how he'll learn from this going into amateur play this summer and for his senior season next year."

Fribbs finished with a 73.71 stroke average for the season, winding up third on the team behind senior Kevin Kring (72.88) and junior Beau Schoolcraft (73.47).

The top five teams out of 14 here advanced to the NCAA Finals, as did the top individual from the nine teams that did not make it or from five golfers playing as individuals; Iowa State's Nate McCoy grabbed that spot with a 4-under 212 scorecard that placed him seventh overall as the Cyclones finished ninth as a team.

Stephan Jaeger of Chattanooga was the individual medalist with a 13-under par 203 over three rounds, with his final round 66 separating him from UCLA's Pedro Figueiredo, who he was tied with through 36 holes.  Figueiredo (70 on Saturday) finished second and four players tied for third at 211.

In the team standings, No. 34 UT-Chattanooga used a 4-under 284 team effort in the final round to take the title with a 5-under overall score of 859, edging No. 15 Texas A&M by one shot.  No. 3 UCLA which led after each of the first two rounds, finished third (863), followed by No. 46 Virginia Tech (874) and No. 39 Memphis (876) to round out the top five and the qualifiers for the finals with begin May 29 at Riviera Country Club.