The UTM golf teams opened the 2004-05 season with a fourth-place finish in the Gulf Coast Collegiate and an eighth-place finish in the Harris Fall Classic.

The Skyhawks shot a two-round 601 in the Gulf Coast Collegiate at The Bridges Golf Resort in Bay St. Louis, Miss., earlier this week.

The team (Reise Kelly, Robert Lents, Trey McNeil, Heath Prescott and John Slayton) was three shots from second place and five shots out of first.

“I was extremely pleased with our effort in this tournament,” said Jerry Carpenter, UTM’s head golf coach.

“This was a good tournament field we were playing against,” he said.

Nicholls State, the tournament host, finished first with 596, while the University of Mobile and Lipscomb tied for second with 598.

Junior Reise Kelly from Nashville led the Skyhawks with a two-round 146.

Kelly finished fifth in the tournament. He shot par the first day and two-over in the second round.

Freshman Robert Lents, from Jackson, turned in a four-under-par 68 in the second round and finished tied for sixth overall in the tournament with 147.

Sophomore Trey McNeil from Dyersburg shot par in the second round and finished with a 153, while senior Heath Prescott shot 155. Freshman Jon Slayton from Alamo, Tenn., also participated in the tournament. Slayton shot a 159.

“This was a tough course and a solid field but John showed me he could play,” Carpenter said.

While Carpenter had five golfers in the Gulf Coast Collegiate, he also entered five more players in the Harris Fall Classic at Kimberland Country Club in Jackson, Mo.

UTM finished eighth in the three-round tournament.

Freshman Brett Mansfield from Lawrenceburg, Tenn., led the Skyhawks with a seven-over-par, 220. He tied for 18th in the tournament.

“He’s been a bright spot for us,” Carpenter said.

Mansfield shot even par in the third round of the tournament. Sophomore Hunter Prescott shot a 226, while sophomore Ryan Scearce, from Dresden, Tenn., shot a 227.

Scearce shot three-over par in the first and third rounds.

Sophomore Jason Bell from Collierville, Tenn., carded a three-round 230, while sophomore Brad Walters from Dunlap, Tenn., turned in a three-round score of 246.

“We are off to a good start,” Carpenter said.

“I think we showed people we can compete with our effort this week in both tournaments.”

The Skyhawk golfers traveled to Birmingham, Ala., on Sept. 19 for the practice round of the Buffalo Rock Southern Showdown. The tournament began Monday, Sept. 20.