Mocs Capture Carpet Capital Collegiate Title

ROCKY FACE, Ga.—It wasn’t easy, but the No. 12 Chattanooga Mocs captured their second title in a week with a five-stroke win at the prestigious Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm in Rocky Face, Ga. The field had eight top 20 schools with four ranking in the top 10, including top-ranked Georgia.

Chattanooga had a three-shot lead entering the second round and got off to a rocky start. UTC lost its lead and fell down the leaderboard a bit before righting the ship and doing so in impressive fashion.

If one shot could turn the tide, then freshman Stephan Jaeger’s hole-in-one on the 243-yard eighth hole with a three iron might have sounded the alarm.

“We needed something big there and that did it,” said Head Coach Mark Guhne. “It recharged us and got the juices going.”

The steady play of Jonathan Hodge had its usual impact as he started the day two-over par through six holes before going on to finish his day with a team-low round of 70 (-2).

“Jonathan was fantastic today,” added Guhne. “He continues to prove himself as one of the top golfers in the nation. He was absolutely clutch.”

Chattanooga’s even par 864 topped second-place Tennessee by five shots. No. 13 South Carolina finished in third, six strokes back, while No. 7 Clemson, who played in the final group with UTC, came in fourth by eight shots. The Mocs defeated No. 6 Florida by nine, No. 20 Alabama by 11 and No. 1 Georgia by 12.

“I wish I knew the right words to express how I feel right now,” concluded Guhne. “This is a very special event to me, one I targeted as an event we needed to elevate our program to just be a part of when I took over four years ago. To win it amazes me.