Troy Falls to Georgia State in Sun Belt Semifinals

Tuesday, April 25

Miramar Beach, Fla.

7:30 a.m.

Troy University

Georgia State

Troy Falls to Georgia State in Sun Belt Semifinals

4/25/2017 4:12:00 PM | Golf (M)

By: Adam Prendergast

MIRAMAR BEACH, Florida – Troy's bid for back-to-back Sun Belt Conference men's golf championships came to an end Tuesday morning with a 4-1 loss to Georgia State in the semifinals of match play at the Raven Golf Course.

Troy earned the No. 1 seed in the four-team match play bracket after a commanding nine-stroke victory in the 54-hole stroke play part of the Sun Belt Championship. The semifinal matchup was a rematch of last year's championship battle that saw Troy win 3-2.

The Trojans will now await the NCAA Selection Show on May 4 at 11 a.m. on Golf Channel to see if they will earn their third straight berth into the NCAA Regionals. Troy entered the week ranked 64^th nationally and the projected cut for the Regionals is 68.

The match was truly a back-and-forth affair as neither team had a golfer with more than a three-hole lead for longer than a one-hole period during the entire match.

Troy took a dramatic early victory as Luke Moser battled from two back with just four holes to play and force a playoff. Moser pulled within one with a birdie on No. 14 and then tied the match with a birdie on No. 18. On the first playoff hole, Moser sank a 6-foot putt for birdie and the win over Nathan Williams.

Clayton Vannoy built a two-hole lead winning five-of-six holes from No. 5 to No. 10 after falling behind by three after the first four holes of the day. However, Alex Herrmann answered back with wins on four the next five holes to claim a 3&2 victory to tie the match at 1-all.

Nick Budd gave Georgia State a 2-1 lead with a 2-up win over Calum Masters with a victory on No. 14 to break an all-square matchup; he then won on No. 18. Max Herrmann clinched the win for the Panthers with a 1-up victory over Cam Norman. Norman made things interesting as he won on the par-3 No. 16 to pull within one with two to play. However, both golfers pared the final two holes to clinch the victory for Georgia State.

Jared Bettcher did not finish his match with Nathan Mallonee as the pair were on the 17^th green when the overall match was decided. Mallonee was credited with a forfeit victory on No. 18 to officially pick up a 2-up win.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Matt Terry
"I'm proud of our guys for the way they played all week. They were the best team over 54 holes of stroke play, but unfortunately we came out a little short over 18 holes of match play. I told our team after the match that we didn't do anything to beat ourselves today, Georgia State played an incredible round of golf and we must tip our caps to them.

"These guys deserve to play in the NCAA Regionals for a third straight season and I have no doubt that they are worthy of that honor. They represented themselves, our team and Troy University with class throughout the week."

Georgia State 4, Troy 1
Luke Moser (Troy) def. Nathan Williams (GSU), 1-up in 19
Nick Budd (GSU) def. Calum Masters (Troy), 2-up
Max Herrmann (GSU) def. Cam Norman (Troy), 1-up
Alex Herrmann (GSU) def. Clayton Vannoy (Troy), 3&2
Nathan Mallonee (GSU) def. Jared Bettcher (Troy), 2-up