Rio men open Spring slate with 9th place finish

Rio Grande Sports Information
     MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - The University of Rio Grande men's golf team opened its Spring schedule with a ninth place finish in the Showdown at Legends, hosted by Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College at the Legends Resort - Parkland.
     The 54-hole event wrapped up its two-day run on Tuesday.
     The RedStorm, who were also in ninth after the first 36 holes on Monday, finished with 107-over par total of 971.
     Lindsey Wilson won the team title, finishing at 15-over par 879, outdistancing runner-up Marian (Ind.) University, who finished at 26-over 890.
     Taylor (Ind.) University was third at 30-over par 894.
     Marian's Nolan Potter and Taylor's Javan Johnson tied for the top spot individually, finishing at even-par 216.
     Rio Grande was led freshman Rodrigo Portilla (Sevilla, Spain), who finished in 43rd place at 22-over par 238.
     Also representing the RedStorm was freshman Nicolas Gonzalez (Medellin, Columbia), who tied for 45th place at 24-over par 240; junior Whit Byrd (Pomeroy, OH) and senior Jacob Calvin (Chillicothe, OH), who made up half of a four-way tie for 55th place at 247; and senior Ethan Mercer (Jackson, OH), who was 67th in the 76-player field at 40-over par 256.
     Rio also had two other golfers who competed as individuals not counting toward its team score.
     Freshman Jacob Smeeks (Belpre, OH) tied for 64th place at 37-over par 253 and freshman Matys Rigal (Talence, France) was 66th at 38-over par 254.
     Rio Grande returns to action on March 20 and 21 at the Blue Raider Classic, also hosted by Lindsey Wilson College, in Columbia, Ky.