FMU golfers in third

DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Francis Marion men’s golf team endured rain and cold on Monday and stands tied for third place after 36 holes at the Davidson College Invitational Golf Tournament at the River Run Country Club course.

The final round will begin at 8:30 a.m. today.

Francis Marion was in sole possession of third in the team standings after Monday morning’s opening 18 holes with a 299. FMU carded a 304 in the afternoon and ended tied with Gardner-Webb at 603.

Liberty leads the 12-team tournament with a 591, while Wofford is second at 593.

Patriot freshman Sebastian Backlund (72-77—149) and sophomore Ciaran McKenna (74-75—149) are among a group tied for seventh in the individual standings. Other FMU golfers include senior Matt
Jackson tied for 17th (75-77—152), senior Christopher Couch tied for 26th (78-75—153), and freshman Travis Gantt tied for 55th (78-86—164).

FMU tennis opponents
FLORENCE — The Francis Marion University men’s tennis doubles team of Oshada Wijemanne and Dilshod Sharifi and the women’s duo of Tereza Sykorova and Sabina Baberadova have learned their first-round opponents for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Small College Championships.

Wijemanne and Sharifi are seeded second in the eight-team Division II men’s bracket. They will face Southern Indiana’s Diego Gimenez and Joseph Boesing at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Sykorova and Baberadova, also seeded second in the women’s bracket, will meet Mesa State’s Kate Lowder and Victoria Sargent at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

The four-day event will be held Thursday-Sunday at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.

Coker golf event suspended
HARTSVILLE — The first round the 2009 Coker Invitational Golf Tournament was suspended due to inclement weather Monday.

The remainder of round one, along with round two will be played today, beginning with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. at the Hartsville Country Club.