FLW College Fishing National Championship gears up for Keowee
Top 49 teams compete March 6-8
SENECA, S.C. – FLW College Fishing is headed to Lake Keowee March 6-8 for the FLW College Fishing National Championship presented by the Lowrance Insight Genesis College Cup. Forty-nine college teams will be competing for a top award of a Ranger Z117 and entry into the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.
“Lake Keowee is kind of a miniature Lake Hartwell, really,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Andy Morgan. “It’s deep and clear and has a good population of spotted bass and largemouth. There are some magnum largemouth in there.”
Morgan said anglers will favor offshore tactics during the tournament – jerkbaits, drop-shot rigs and shaky-head rigs.
“There may be a few caught by dock fishing, but it will probably be dominated offshore,” Morgan said. “Once it warms up, they’re hard to catch. Once they come off the bed you can catch them for a couple of weeks on topwater baits, but then they get hard to catch. If I had to pick one time to be at Keowee this would be it.
“My guess is you’ll see 75 percent spotted bass at the weigh-ins,” Morgan added. “And it’s going to take 16 to 17 pounds a day to win.”
Anglers will take off from South Cove County Park located at 828 S. Cove Road in Seneca, S.C., at 7 a.m. Weigh-in will be held at South Cove County Park starting at 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Weigh-in Saturday will be at 3 p.m. at the Walmart located at 1636 Sandifer Blvd. in Seneca. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the 2014 FLW College Fishing National Championship, which is hosted by the Mountain Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureau, include:
Arkansas Tech University – Evan Barnes, Hot Springs, Ark., and Ryan Dorsett, Rison, Ark.
Auburn University – Garrett Roberts, Cullman, Ala., and Timmy Ward, Auburn, Ala.
Auburn University-Montgomery – Tyler Strock and Dalton Darnell, both of Deatsville, Ala.
Baylor University – Tyler Torwick, Waco, Texas, and Connor Case, Plano, Texas
Cal Poly – John Zeolla, Oak Park, Calif., and Kyle Greenlaw, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Chico State – Nick Carrico, Oroville, Calif., and Andrew Loberg, Rocklin, Calif.
CSU-Monterey Bay – Joshua Smith and Andrew Sjostrom, both of Marina, Calif.
CSU-Monterey Bay – Matthew Diaz and Sebastian Resendiz, both of Castroville, Calif.
Dallas Baptist University – Trent Newman, Midlothian, Texas, and Jacob Sepeda, Roby, Texas
Eastern Kentucky – Ethan Snyder, Vine Grove, Ky., and Billy French, Hamilton, Ohio
Florida State University – Nicholas Harris, Marianna, Fla., and Brooks Woodward, Thomasville, Ga.
Georgetown College – John Hunter and Vincent Timperio, both of Georgetown, Ky.
Georgia Southern – Dean Mullett, Marietta, Ga., and Dalton Anderson, Peachtree City, Ga.
Hardin – Simmons University – Randy Sullivan, Breckenridge, Texas, and Hubbell Allen, Abilene, Texas
Henderson State – Shane Stoddard, Hot Springs, Ark., and Cobey Wingfield, Malvern, Ark.
Humboldt State University – Christopher Childers, McKinleyville, Calif., and Erich Coulter, Arcata, Calif.
Humboldt State University – Derrick Hicks, Lincoln, Calif., and Graeme Lock, Arcata, Cailf.
Indiana University – Sean Gillenwater, Bloomington, Ind., and Josh Collier, Ellettsville, Ind.
Lamar University – Justin Royal, Vidor, Texas, and Colby Ogden, Kountze, Texas
Lincoln Memorial University – Chris Hunt, Loudon, Tenn., and Kyle Warwick, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Mansfield University – Matt Novitski, Kingston, Pa., and Colton Otto, Carlisle, Pa.
Murray State University – Cody Sieben, Belle Plaine, Minn., and Dan Schult, Millstadt, Ill.
North Alabama – Dawson Lenz, Peachtree City, Ga., and Evan Horne, Florence, Ala.
Northern Illinois University – Derek Malanowski, Woodridge, Ill., and Chris Kosior, Palos Hills, Ill.
Northwood University – Travis Riedel, Falmouth, Mich., and Zach Lowe, Troy, Mich.
Oregon State University – Zach Macdonald, Willits, Calif., and Ryan Sparks, Gearhart, Ore.
Ramapo College – Joseph Zapf and Andrew Zapf, both of Whippany, N.J.
Sacramento State – Thomas Kanemoto, Vacaville, Calif., and Kyle Derbish, Sacramento, Calif.
Slippery Rock University – Benjamin Tawney, Stoystown, Pa., and Tyler Branca, Hermitage, Pa.
Sonoma State University – Adrien Briens, Carlsbad, Calif., and Ernie Gorham, Rohnert Park, Calif.
SUNY-Plattsburgh – John McDougall, Queensbury, N.Y., and Nate Lewis, Middletown Springs, Vt.
Texas A&M – Cole Temple, College Station, Texas, and Zachary Wymer, Southlake, Texas
Troy University – Connor Bedsole, Arab, Ala., and Bradley Norred, Morris, Ala.
University of Louisiana-Monroe – Nick Ladart and Brian Eaton, both of Monroe, La.
UNC-Charlotte – Shane Lehew, Charlotte, N.C., and Eric Self, Lawndale, N.C.
University of Colorado-Colorado Springs – Peter Decker and Justin Solverson, both of Colorado Springs, Colo.
University Of Evansville – Nick Uebelhor and Eric Kieffner, both of Jasper, Ind.
University Of Iowa – John Mercer, Burlington, Iowa, and Keaton Williams, Fort Dodge, Ind.
University Of Minnesota – Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., and Chris Burgan, Minneapolis, Minn.
University Of Nebraska-Omaha – Ben Milliken, Bennington, Neb., and Ben Kroeger, Omaha, Neb.
University Of North Texas – Michael Worley, Bedford, Texas, and Branden Barnett, Denton, Texas
University Of Oklahoma – Paul Muzljakovich, Wagoner, Okla., and Landon Dixon, Hinton, Okla.
UT-Chattanooga – Taylor Bolton, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., and Parker Bacon, Nashville, Tenn.
UW-Stevens Point – Cody Lincoln, Okauchee, Wis., and Jason Hawksford, Hudson, Wis.
Vermont Technical College – Tylor Lahue, Colchester, Vt., and William Waite, Hartland, Vt.
Virginia Tech – John Woodward, Richmond, Va., and Ricky Kassebaum, Salem, Va.
West Virginia University – Edward Rude III, Falling Waters, W. Va., and Mathew Gibson, Morgantown, W. Va.
Xavier University – Ty Styons, Fairfield, Ohio, and Andrew Decilles, Batesville, Ind.
Young Harris College – Furman (Joe) Thompson, Clayton, Ga., and Grayson Payne, Blairsville, Ga.
Youngstown State University – Charles Cremeans, Youngstown, Ohio, and Zachary Alcorn, New Philadelphia, Ohio
The national championship awards the top team a $30,000 prize package, including a Ranger Z117 with a 90-horsepower engine and an entry into the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup. The team member fishing as a pro in the Forrest Wood Cup also receives the use of a wrapped Ranger Boat and Chevy Tow Vehicle. All prize money earned in the Forrest Wood Cup goes directly to the individual who earns it. The Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing, hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board will be held Aug. 14-17 on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C., and will offer the collegiate anglers the opportunity to compete for a top award of $500,000.
Coverage of the 2014 FLW College Fishing National Championship, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when “FLW” airs May 31 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing. Visit CollegeFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.
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