GASTONIA, NC--The Winthrop men's golf team tied for fifth place with Ohio State and North Carolina State in the Gary Koch Invitational which concluded on Tuesday at the Gaston Country Club.

Winthrop finished the 15-team event with a 54-hole score of 877 (291-300-286). It was the final regular season tournament for the Eagles who will prepare for the April 20-22 Big South Conference Championships at The Patriot at Grand Harbor near Ninety Six, SC.  Florida State captured the team championship by finishing at 22-under par 842 over the par 72, 7,042-yard layout.  FSU won by 10 shots over second place Auburn and by 16 shots over third place Kentucky, who served as co-hosts for the event. 

The Eagles were led by sophomore Zach Seabolt (Raleigh, NC) who fired at 3-under 213 (66-74-73) to tie FSU's Cristobal Del Solar.  Seabolt, who entered the tournament ranked 25th in the nation by Golfstat, was tied for first place with Del Solar after the opening round on Monday after shooting 6-under.  He followed that round with a 74 to fall into a tie for fourth place heading into today's final round.  Auburn's Michael Johnson and Rowin Caron of Florida State finished in a tie for first place at 8-under 208. 

Winthrop senior and Gastonia native Taylor Dickson made a big jump in the final round as he shot 6-under 66 to move from 24th place into a tie for 14th in the final standings at 216 (76-74-66).  Junior Nick Eberhardt (Fort Mill, SC) tied for 52nd at 226 (76-76-74) while sophomore Bradley Kauffman (Greenville, SC) shot 227 (78-76-73) and tied for 55th.  Rounding out the Eagle performances was junior Christian Sease (Mt. Pleasant, SC) who tied for 60th place at 228 (73-78-77).