MACCC CHAMPIONS X3

(MGCCCBulldogs.com) No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast came from behind Tuesday to win its third straight MACCC Championship at Shiloh Ridge Golf Club in Corinth.

The Bulldogs reversed a three-shot deficit to beat No. 6 Meridian by three shots, earning the school's 16th conference title. Ludvig Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium) won the Tommy Snell Medalist after finishing 2-under to beat Meridian's Bruce McClung by two shots.

"Meridian is a really good team," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "They competed their tails off. It definitely woke our guys up because they know they're a good team, and they played well this week. I was really happy how our guys responded today. Maybe we weren't playing our best golf, but we figured out a way to get it in the hole. Sometimes that's what you gotta do."

Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium) all but clinched his first collegiate victory by making an eagle on the 16^th hole.

"I hit an absolute bomb of a drive and the had a 5-iron in," Behring said. "I put it to about 7 feet. It was straight downhill, and I drained it. It was mostly the drive that made everything else so much easier."

John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) finished third at 1-over. Stanley Campbell (So., London, England/Essex Golf College) bounced back from a poor first round to jump 16 spots in the standings, barely missing joining Behring and Mills on the All-Tournament Team. He also shot 2-under 70 Tuesday.

Behring is the fourth different Bulldog to win a tournament this year.

"It just shows that we have more depth than anybody else," he said. "It's all about depth as a team. Everybody knows that it's the fourth or fifth man who is the difference in winning a national championship. I think that will boost our confidence."

Campbell won the Hubert Tucker Award for having the lowest scoring average in MACCC events this year. He averaged 71.67 strokes per round. A Gulf Coast golfer has won it four straight years and seven of the last eight.

Campbell, Mills and Russell earned All-MACCC First Team, and Behring was on the Second Team.

Thornton was named MACCC Coach of the Year. The Bulldogs did not lose a conference event they participated in.

Jones, East Central and Northeast Mississippi will be the other three teams joining the Bulldogs and Eagles on automatic bids at the NJCAA Gulf District Championship next week in Tunica. Host East Mississippi and Jacksonville College from Texas will join five individuals from non-qualifying teams to round out the field.

The 54-hole tournament will be played April 21-23 at Tunica National Country Club.