University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
NCAA Colorado Regional
Plucienski Struggles in Final Day of NCAA's
5/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 21, 2011
Erie, Colo. - Southern Miss redshirt junior Derek Plucienski carded a seven-over par 79 to close the NCAA Men's Golf Colorado Regional with a 13-over 229 (74-76-79) in a tie for 69th-place.
The day started off well for Plucienski with a birdie on his opening hole of the day, the 474-yard, par 4 10th hole. However, things quickly went downhill for the Slidell, La. native, as he bogeyed holes 12, 13, 15 and 16.
Plucienski got a stroke back when he birdied the 364-yard, par four 17th, as he made the turn at two-over par.
Plucienski was steady for the first seven holes of the back nine, as he was just one over. However, he had a rough finish to the round, posting a triple bogey on the eighth hole and a bogey on the ninth.
For the tournament, Plucienski had 16 bogeys to just six birdies.
The regional capped off a fantastic year for Plucienski, who was named Second Team All-Conference USA. He was the only golfer to participate in all 11 team events this year. His stroke average of 72.81 over 32 rounds is the third lowest in Southern Miss history.
The Slidell, La. native had two top five finishes, five top ten finishes and nine top 20 finishes, which is tied for fourth in school history, one behind the record. He also has 15 rounds of par or better on the year. He earned his first career victory at the 2010 UTA/Waterchase Intercollegiate, which was the first Southern Miss individual victory since Joel Myrick won the 2006 Adam's Cup of Newport.
Plucienski began the season in record-breaking fashion, recording two of the three lowest scores in Southern Miss history at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate, including a school record 63 in the first round. At that tournament, he also set the school record for lowest 54-hole score with a 201.
A week later, Plucienski earned his first career victory at the UTA/Waterchase Intercollegiate, recording a 65 in the second round and setting a Southern Miss 36-hole record with a 133.
Plucienski finished the year with a 73.1 stroke average, which is the fourth best single season average in school history.
