MERIDIAN, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College golf program hopes to make history in the playoffs just as it has done during the regular season.
The Tigers will participate in the 2021 Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Tournament beginning on Monday, April 19 at Briarwood Golf Club.
This event was originally set to be hosted by Copiah-Lincoln Community College. However, ongoing repairs at Wolf Hollow Golf Club necessitated the change in location to Meridian.
It is Northeast's first appearance at Briarwood as an entire team since the 2014-15 campaign. The Tigers placed sixth in that competition behind a solid outing from future National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American Alex Tull.
Northeast's current edition has finished no worse than third during each conference tournament since the season started in late September. The Tigers have won two of those six tour stops.
The Tigers were 18 shots better than runner-up Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College during the opening MACCC event of the year at Shiloh Ridge Athletic Club. Jake Kilcrease led the way for Northeast with a career-low round of 68.
Kilcrease matched that score some seven months later as the Tigers claimed a narrow three-shot victory over Meridian Community College during the most recent MACCC competition from March 29-30 at Quail Hollow Golf Course.
It is the first time that Northeast has captured multiple tournament championships in a single season since 2008. Derek DeVaughn, who is in his second year as head coach of the Tigers, was a sophomore on that team.
"They have really worked hard and bought in to exactly what we want to do," DeVaughn said. "We've just got to get down to the grind and finish strong. We can't wait to get going."
Northeast has held a national ranking throughout the season. The Tigers, who have risen to as high as No. 3 in the country, presently stand at 11th in Golfstat's ratings for NJCAA Division II members.
Three Northeast golfers fall inside the top 10 of the MACCC's list of scoring averages. Kilcrease, who hails from Brantley, Ala., heads that group with the second best score in the entire Magnolia State at 73.82.
Tate Dickerson follows Kilcrease closely at fourth in the league with 74.91 shots per round. The Austin Peay State (Tenn.) University transfer has been even better than that over the last three events with an average of 73.6 strokes.
Austin Lauderdale checks in at ninth in the MACCC at 77 shots on the dot per 18 holes. The Booneville High School graduate has matched a career-low of 72 twice during tournaments at Corinth and McComb.
Baldwyn's Garrett Gray and Carson Wilder of Kossuth High School, who are both tied for 17th in the statewide individual standings, complete the Tigers' five-man active roster for the MACCC Tournament.
The top five finishers at the MACCC Tournament will advance to the NJCAA District D Tournament, which takes place April 27-28 at Reunion Golf and Country Club in Madison.