The Eastern men’s golf team closed out the season with an 11th-place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships Wednesday.

Sophomores Romeo Perez and Marcello Verdolin tied for 49th as both golfers shot for 243 on the 54-hole course. In the final round of the tournament Wednesday, Perez shot an 80 while Verdolin totaled 81.

Perez was ranked 15th in the tournament overall for birdies as he tallied seven.

Freshman Sebastian Olrog boasted the best showing for Eastern in the final round with a 79. He ranked 55th in the field with a 54-hole score of 260.

Junior Charlie Adare and senior Alex Gowin also tied in the tournament in the 51st position. Each golfer finished 54 holes with a score of 246. Adare shot an 85 while Gowin posted a final round of 82.

Wednesday was a bright spot in the tournament for the Panthers after the team struggled to gain its footing in round two on Tuesday.

Eastern’s second round was led by Perez and Verdolin, but the two fell in the rankings from 37th in the first round to 50th and 51st in the second round.

Adare was the Panthers’ star on Tuesday as he posted the most successful 18-hole round among his teammates. He shot an 81 to put him at 49th place heading into the final round.

Second to Adare was Gowin, who carded an 83 to slide into 52nd place. His 36-hole total sat at 164 Tuesday.

In round one of the conference tournament, Eastern shot a team score of 315 and stood one stroke behind Murray State. Jacksonville State led in team scoring in all three rounds of the tournament.

Verdolin and Perez emerged as the team leaders in round one, a feat repeated on Tuesday. Both golfers shot rounds of 77.

Adare posted a round of 80 to take 48th place while Gowin trailed by just one stroke for 49th place. Olrog tied for 54th place after round one. He shot a round of 87.

Perez ended the season as Eastern’s top golfer. He averaged 77.5 per round and shot just six over par typically. He had the lowest stroke count on the season with 1,861.

Jacksonville State also went on the win the tournament by five strokes over Eastern Kentucky. Nick Wilkins of Morehead State was the individual conference winner after he defeated Belmont’s Jack Uselton in a three-hole playoff; both players shot 216 for the tie.

This was Jacksonville State’s second-straight OVC Championship win and the Gamecocks’ seventh overall conference championship.

Eastern will lose just one player as Gowin will be graduating this year. The team will mostly be comprised of upperclassmen with no word yet on potential incoming players.

Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]