Sept. 24, 2002

St. Charles, IL -

Led by junior Alan Weant and sophomore Allan Thomas, the University of Memphis golf team fired a final round score of 11 under par 277 and claimed the team title of the De Paul Blue Demon Invitational Golf Tournament at Prairie Landing Golf Club. Weant shot a final round score of five under par 67 to win medalist honors and his teammate Thomas carded a two under par score of 70 to finish second.

The Tigers entered the final 18-holes trailing host team DePaul by four strokes. But Memphis's 11 under par score better the Blue Demons by 25 strokes and gave the U of M it's first title since the 1992 Great Midwest Conference championship.

"This was a nice win for the team and for the school," said veteran head coach Jim Cook. "This team really started improving last spring and they have carried their success into the fall season. We played pretty good golf at the Southern Mississippi tournament last week and it gave the team a shot of confidence. Now we must build on what we have accomplished."

De Paul University finished in second place with a score of 904 after shooting 302 in the final round. Marquette and Eastern Illinois tied for third at 908 and Saint Louis University rounded out the top five with a team total of 913.

Weant, a Germantown High School graduate, turned in rounds of 76-73-67 in winning his first tournament as a Tiger. The Auburn transfer shot even par 216 for the 54-hole event. Thomas, a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, who had not qualified for a tournament before this fall, had rounds of 72-75-70 for a one over par score of 217. Richard Jones placed 13th at 226, while David Jeans tied for 14th with a 228 and freshman Clayton Ellis was tied for 18th at 229. Ellis had a final round score of even par 72 while Jeans carded a career low 68.

MEMPHIS INDIVIDUAL SCORES: 1 Alan Weant 76-73-67--216 2 Allan Thomas 72-75-70--217 13 Richard Jones 74-79-73--226 T14 David Jeans 79-81-72--228 T18 Clayton Ellis 76-81-72--229

TEAM SCORES: 1. Memphis 298-308-277--883 2. De Paul 297-305-302--904 3. Marquette 311-299-298--908 Eastern Illinois 306-301-301--908 5 Saint Louis 304-306-303--913 6 Western Illinois 294-323-299--916 7 Loyola-Chicago 310-305-303--918 8 Bradley 306-311-317--934 9 Chicago State 351-345-333--1029