Texas State University leads National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Texas State University team of Jay McCollum of Athens, Texas, and David Cosner of Austin, Texas, led the second day of the first National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship on Fort Loudoun Lake Saturday after catching four bass weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces for a two-day total of nine bass weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces. The national championship, featuring a $100,000 first-place award, is a three-day nationally televised event hosting the top 25 teams in the country.

“The spot we got all our fish on yesterday did not produce today,” said McCollum, a senior agricultural business major. “Dinks moved in and the big fish moved out. We knew it was going to be a grind with this hot weather today. It got warmer quicker and we knew we had to adjust. We moved spots and moved to the right spot.”

Although the pair remained tight-lipped about their methods and locations they chose to fish, they did reveal a confidence going into the final day of competition with the lead.

“We feel pretty good,” said Cosner, a freshman. “I know anything’s possible on this lake. We’ve seen fish that are big. We’re just going to go out and stick with our game plan and dance with what’s brought us.”

When asked if they were confident about their success lasting into the final day of competition, Cosner said he was believed their pattern would hold up.

“We said that yesterday, too,” said McCollum. “We’re really good at overcoming adversity and really good at adjusting, so no matter what happens, top five in the nation ain’t bad.”

The remaining top five teams that made the cut to the final day of competition included:

2nd: University of Florida – Matthew Wercinski of Gainesville, Fla., and Jake Gipson of Niceville, Fla., (seven bass,

21-15)

3rd: Texas A&M – Andrew Shafer of Chadfield, Texas, and Paul Manley of Orange, Texas, (eight bass, 19-13)

4th: Auburn University – Dennis Parker of Prattville, Ala., and Shaye Baker of Reeltown, Ala., (seven bass, 17-12)

5th: Murray State University – Kalem Tippett of Murray, Ky., and Steve Miller of Lincolnshire, Ill., (six bass, 15-12)

The remaining top 10 teams included:

6th: Auburn University – Richard Peek and Caleb Rodgers, both of Centre, Ala., (eight bass, 15-0)

7th: Virginia Tech – Andrew Blevins of Pulaski, Va., and Carson Rejzer of Hampton, Va., (eight bass, 14-6)

8th: Ohio State – Kevin Moeller and Casey Hammann, both of Cincinnati, Ohio, (five bass, 13-10)

9th: Eastern Kentucky – Tyler Moberly of Berea, Ky., and Richard Cobb of Richmond, Ky., (six bass, 13-7)

10th: Indiana University – Jesse Schultz of New Albany, Ind., and Dustin Vaal of Saint Meinrad, Ind., (seven bass, 12-4)

A complete list of results can be found at: http://www.collegefishing.com/tournament.cfm.

The teams, which represent the top five teams from each of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western – are the representatives from a tough season where teams fished four regular-season events in each division. The top five teams in each qualifying event advanced to one of five three-day National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championships. The top five teams from each of those regional tournaments are competing in Tennessee for the title of National Guard FLW Collegiate National Champion, who will also qualify for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup Aug. 5-8 at Lake Lanier in Atlanta, Ga. The winners will also receive use of a wrapped boat and Chevy truck for Cup competition.

College Fishing events are free to enter, boats and drivers are provided by FLW Outdoors and all collegiate teams receive a travel allowance. Each team competing in the national championship is sporting jerseys and fishing out of wrapped Ranger boats towed by Chevy trucks for the competition.

Monday’s takeoff will be at 7 a.m. at Ned McWherter Riverside Landing Park located at 1648 Riverside Drive in Knoxville. The weigh-in will be at 4 p.m. at TRECS Plaza on the University of Tennessee campus located at 2106 Andy Holt Ave, Lot 20 in Knoxville.

FLW Outdoors will host the College Fishing Festival, which runs from noon to 4 p.m. Monday with activities including the National Guard Challenge, climbing wall and paintball. All activities, including a 3 p.m. concert, are free and open to the public. Fans can also register for cash prizes presented by US Bank.

Each regular-season College Fishing event boasts a top cash award of $10,000 to be split evenly between the university and the university’s bass-fishing club. Regional events tout a top award of a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower engine wrapped in school colors for their school’s bass club and $25,000 for the school they represent. The national championship awards the top team with $25,000 cash, a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower engine wrapped in school colors for their school’s bass club and $50,000 for the school they represent. The Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing, offers anglers the chance to win a top award of $600,000.

For more information about the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship, visit CollegeFishing.com.

About FLW Outdoors

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.