LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (3/29/16) – The Arkansas State men's golf team completed play Tuesday at the Little Rock First Tee Classic with a final-round 309, giving the Red Wolves a combined 911 to place them seventh among 15 teams.

A-State entered today's competition at the Chenal Country Club in sixth place, but dropped one place in the standings after posting a 304 and 298 for the first and second rounds, respectively. The Red Wolves were led by two players finishing among the top 25 individual leaders, including freshman Joel Wendin in ninth place and sophomore Tanner Napier in a tie for 17th.

The Red Wolves finished only one stroke behind sixth-place Xavier, while Lipscomb claimed the championship with an 884. UT Martin took runner-up honors with an 898 and host-school Little Rock placed third with a 901.

“We came out really slow all three rounds, especially the first when we had some guys open up with some big numbers,” said A-State head coach Mike Hagen . “You just can't do that on that golf course – you can't make enough birdies with the way it was set up. I think that led to some of our guys trying to guide the ball around the golf course rather than just swinging freely at it.

We shot a lot better that second round, but still didn't finish very strong. We just made too many mistakes and couldn't get comfortable on the golf course.”

Wendin moved up four places in the standings today, carding a 74 to give him a 223 total that also included a 76 for the opening round and 73 for the second 18 holes. He collected his seventh top-20 performance this season, including the last five tournaments in a row.

Despite posting his highest score of the tournament today, a 78, Napier still picked up his third top-20 finish this season and 10th of his career. All three of his top-20 outings this year have come over the last four tournaments. In addition to his 78, he posted a 73 and 76 for the first and second rounds.

“I thought Joel had a nice tournament and played pretty well for the most part,” said Hagen. “Without a couple of minor mistakes on some par 5s, he could have finished in the top five. Tanner didn't have his best tournament, so for him to still post the scores he did and have a decent finish was good to see.”

Oswin Schlenkrich also improved his standing today, moving up three spots into a tie for 43rd place after shooting a 78. He opened the tournament yesterday with a 79 and followed with a 75 during the next round.

Also representing Arkansas State, Andrew Huseman and Seth Garner both recorded a combined 233 to tie for 50th place, while Cameron McRae came in 53rd with a 234. McRae competed as an individual.

Arkansas State returns to action April 4-5 when it hosts the Red Wolves Intercollegiate at RidgePointe Country Club in Jonesboro.