WINONA, Minn. - They stared down history and third-year head coach Neriah Brown's squad didn't blink. Southern Arkansas, which entered the final round of play at the NCAA DII Central/Midwest Regional from The Bridges Golf Course in Winona, Minnesota six shots back of the advancement line, equaled its round two performance with a 291 over its final 18 holes to force a three-team playoff with Great American Conference foes Henderson State and Harding for the final two berths into the national tournament. When the smoke cleared in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, it was the Muleriders that posted a two-under in the sudden death playoff to punch the program's first-ever ticket to the NCAA DII National Championship.
With Southern Arkansas, Henderson State and Harding all equal at +29 for the tournament and straddling the cut line following score reporting in round three, bags 1-5 from the three league foes took to holes No. 14 through No. 18, respectively to decide the fifth and sixth advancing teams.
Junior Connor Harrington sank a birdie on the par-4, 391-yard No. 16 and true freshman Luke Cote notched a birdie on the par-4, 413-yard No. 17; a hole he tripled bogeyed in round three and the Muleriders used pars from junior Caleb Miller (par-4, 394-yard No. 14) and senior Brendan Little (par-4, 378-yard No. 18) and a one-over from sophomore Logan McDonald (par-3, 208-yard No. 15) to shoot -2 and match Harding in the playoff as both teams beat Henderson State by three strokes.
SAU's team effort in round three was the second-best round by any team in its last trip around the course. Certainly not lost in the team success is the best individual regional finish by a Mulerider in program history as Miller climbed six spots in the final round to finish tied for second in the 108-golfer field with a 54-hole total of 212, an NCAA postseason program record, which included rounds of 74-68-70. In round three, Miller birdied four holes, including three in a four-hole stretch, and added a dozen pars.
A two-birdie effort in round three, McDonald landed at tied for 20th after moving up three spots from round two. He finished at 219 for the tournament.
Harrington climbed 23 spots from round two to round three as he shaved two strokes to shoot a 72 after notching two birdies and a team-leading 13 made pars in the final 18. He finished at 223 over three rounds and inside the field's top 40.
Little shot a 76 in his final round of play. He recorded a birdie and six pars in the front nine and after a tough three-hole stretch near the start of the back nine, Little made par on his final five holes of the round to finish at 227.
Cote went even on the front nine, before running into trouble late on the back half as he finished with a 78 on Saturday and a 238 for the tournament but his showing in the playoff, improving four strokes on a single hole, greatly aided SAU in its historic showing.
Miller and McDonald each finished the 54-hole tournament at one-under on par-4s. Harrington followed at +3. Miller produced the second-best par-5 effort among the entire field as he shot -4. He led SAU with 39 pars and Harrington followed with 36. McDonald paced the squad with ten birdies.
Southern Arkansas led the field in par-4 scoring at +23 and was one of nine teams to shoot +5 or better on par-5 scoring. SAU finished par-3 holes at +26. For the tournament, the Muleriders totaled 167 pars and 30 birdies to go along with Miller's round two eagle.
The Muleriders move on to the national tournament from the Avalon Lakes Country Club in Warren, Ohio. The 54-hole tournament begins May 22 and runs through May 24 with match play set for May 25 and May 26. Live coverage links will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
