MSU's Rocha claims second in SEC

Jeremy Hudson
Reflector Reporter

The MSU men's golf team posted an impressive outing in the Southeastern Conference Golf Championship over the weekend with a third-place finish.

Senior Alex Rocha led the way as he carded a 2-under 70 to finish the first round of the tournament in a tie for the individual lead. He has now shot par or better in the first round of 16 consecutive events dating back to March, 1999. Codie Mudd and Ben Smith both turned in cards of 3 over, 75 for the opening round. The second round Saturday saw Alex Rocha take over sole possession of the leader board as he fired a 4-under 68. "I was really feeling great. I felt like I could pull off shots that I normally wouldn't try, especially in the SEC," Rocha said. His two-round total of 138 ties him for the sixth-lowest score in the history of the tournament.

Fellow senior Ben Smith shot an even-par 72 on the day and moved into a tie for the 12th position in the field. The two seniors, Rocha and Smith, paced the team as it shaved 10 strokes off its first-round performance. The group did not gain any ground on the leading Georgia team and went into the final round trailing by 20 strokes.

Rocha, the third-ranked golfer in the nation, began Sunday atop the leader board, one stroke ahead of Auburn's Roland Thatcher, but was unable to hold on. "Alex just had one of those days," Nicky Goetze, MSU head coach, said. "Unfortunately it came on the last day. He just never got things going."

Rocha finished the day with a 1-over 73 to finish second overall with a 211, three shots behind Thatcher.

The team closed the gap on Georgia with a solid showing on the last day and claimed third place in the championship. Ben Smith's performance was good enough for a top 20 finish, and Codie Mudd finished 28th overall. "The guys really had a solid round," Goetze said. "I feel like this performance should give us a good chance of making the NCAA regionals."

Should the Bulldogs make it to the regionals, they would spend May 18-20 at Glen Maura National Country Club in Scranton, Pa. However, MSU will be in action again before then, as the team travels to Ardmore, Okla., for the Maxwell at Dornick Hills Country Club May 13-14.