GEORGETOWN, Ky. – St. Mary’s Jeff Rein soared up the standings in Wednesday’s second and third rounds, ascending all the way to 13th place by the end of the NCAA Division II Midwest/South Central Region Golf Tournament.

Rein, who took second place at the Heartland Conference Championship several weeks back, led the St. Mary’s men’s golf team to a 15th-place finish as a team at the Cherry Blossom Golf Course.

St. Mary’s shot 913 over three rounds, while tournament-champion Abilene Christian shot 876. ACU’s Cyril Bouniol won the event by carding a three-round total of 209.

Rein, a senior from San Antonio, shot 220 for the tournament.

After leading the Rattlers through one round of competition, Matt Vela (Sr., San Antonio – the reigning Heartland Conference Men’s Golfer of the Year – shot 230 to finish in a tie for 65th place.

Chris Becker (Jr., San Antonio) shot 231, while Sam Jernigan (Jr., San Antonio) carded a 234.

Freshman Shawn Bennett, a native of Marion, Texas, shot 250.

Heavy rains flooded the course on Tuesday, forcing the second and third rounds to be moved to Wednesday. The second round proved difficult across the board, with one Rattler shooting in the 80s and another in the 90s. But they settled down in Round 3, with Rein, Vela, Becker and Jernigan all carding scores in the 70s.

St. Mary’s did not earn a qualifying bid to the national tournament.

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