February 26, 2004

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Virginia Tech shot a final round 299 and tied East Tennessee State for 11^th place at the Puerto Rico Classic at the par-72, 6,931 Rio Mar Country Club's River Course in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

Sophomore Joel Kraner (Dublin, Ohio) was the Hokies' top individual with a three-round total of three-over-par 219 and tied for 24^th place overall. Matt Hendrix of Clemson won medalist honors, with a nine-under-par 207.

Freshman Ryan Sypniewski (Radford, Va.) tied for 32^nd place with a four-over-par 220 and senior Ryan Stinnett (Amherst, Va.) tied for 36^th place at five-over-par, 221. Redshirt junior Scott Wise (Vinton, Va.) was 63^rd at 227 and sophomore Sam Nicholson (Augusta, Ga.) tied for 70^th at 232.

Florida won the event with a three-day total of nine-under-par 855, one stroke better than defending NCAA champion Clemson. Day Two leader Oklahoma was third at 858, Georgia was fourth at 865 and Oklahoma State was fifth at 871. North Carolina State, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Minnesota and Texas rounded out the top 10. Texas finished at 885, one stroke better than the Hokies and Buccaneers.

The tournament featured one of the strongest fields of the spring season. The past five NCAA Division I champions competed in the event, as did seven of the final 18 teams from last season's championship, including 2003 champion Clemson and runner-up Oklahoma State.

Next on the schedule for the Hokies is the Coastal Carolina Intercollegiate at the Tournament Players Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on March 8 and 9.

Place   Team               1st   2nd   3rd  --  Tot.
-----------------------------------------------------
1       Florida .........  289   277   289  --  855
2       Clemson .........  281   289   286  --  856
3       Oklahoma ........  283   280   295  --  858
4       Georgia .........  290   292   283  --  865
5       Oklahoma State ..  292   298   281  --  871
6       N.C. State ......  293   283   300  --  876
7       Virginia ........  292   294   293  --  879
T8      Georgia Tech ....  296   299   285  --  880
T8      Minnesota .......  288   296   296  --  880
10      Texas ...........  288   299   298  --  885
T11     Virginia Tech ...  295   292   299  --  886
T11     E. Tenn. State ..  304   289   293  --  886
13      Purdue ..........  300   298   292  --  890
14      Kent State ......  293   297   302  --  892
15      Northwestern ....  306   292   303  --  901
16      Duke ............  300   294   311  --  905
17      Illinois ........  306   313   301  --  920
18      Michigan ........  319   302   301  --  922